It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Chacarita Juniors is running low.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Lautaro Napolitano was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
“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.
0 in and 0 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.
Francisco Facello 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Lanús have kept their man, and Chacarita Juniors go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thiago Etcheverry 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.
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout21 Jul 2036
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 Interim Coach to a room that had heard them before.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Lautaro Napolitano provided it, and the 8.70 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
“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.
Francisco Facello 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.
9 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Chacarita Juniors and Almirante Brown in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
“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.
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.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Chacarita Juniors have done the hard part with San Martín de Burzaco, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
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.
Chacarita Juniors asked and Belgrano 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 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 deal with San Martín de Burzaco 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.
Chacarita Juniors asked and Defensa y Justicia 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 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.
A midfielder is measured on whether the team functions when he is on the pitch, which is nearly impossible to see and completely obvious in retrospect. 10 actions, 6.55, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
“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.
Player ratings16 Jun 2036
Valentino Gómez, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 7.60
A mark of 7.60 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.
Chacarita Juniors had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Deportivo Riestra, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Francisco Facello 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 happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph a local paper has to write. 35 years old, 3 points down on where he was, and a body that has started charging interest on a career.
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 phone has started ringing about Alejandro González again, and this time the name on the line is Atlanta. Chacarita Juniors are listening politely and promising nothing.
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
“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.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Chacarita Juniors have done the hard part with Arsenal, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Gonzalo Dell Aquila 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.
Chacarita Juniors asked and Gimnasia La Plata 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 had been thinking. Thiago Etcheverry 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 17-year-old it feels ownership of. Narigón 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.
“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.
Francisco Facello 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.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 4 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thiago Etcheverry 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 door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
The dugout26 May 2036
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 0‑4 defeat, delivered by Interim Coach to a room that had heard them before.
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
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.
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.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 7 goals between Chacarita Juniors and Unión de Santa Fe, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thiago Etcheverry 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.
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
“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.
Francisco Facello 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 supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
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.
Two goals and a mark of 8.92 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
There were 87 minutes on the clock and Colón had all but banked the point. Football rarely reads the room, and Chacarita Juniors did not stop to explain themselves.
Francisco Facello 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. Thiago Etcheverry 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.
6 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Thiago Etcheverry was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Interim Coach after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Cristian González has his answer from Chacarita Juniors; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
0‑9 to UAI Urquiza, 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.
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.
Francisco Facello 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. 9 goals between Chacarita Juniors and UAI Urquiza, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Thiago Etcheverry was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Gonzalo Dell Aquila and Chacarita Juniors agree another 2 years.
Francisco Facello 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, Lautaro Napolitano on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Chacarita Juniors and Temperley.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thiago Etcheverry 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 2‑4, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Maximiliano Ramos is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
0‑4 to Dock Sud, 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 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.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thiago Etcheverry 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.
There was one mistake and it ended in the net. Defenders are judged on the worst thing they did rather than on the eighty-nine minutes either side of it, which is unfair and is also the job.
Beaten 4 times, with 2 saves for company. Goalkeepers carry these scorelines on their record whoever actually caused them, which is the quiet injustice of the job.
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
“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.
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.
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 Telmo in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thiago Etcheverry 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 supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 2‑4, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Lautaro Napolitano and Chacarita Juniors agree another 4 years.
Gonzalo Dell Aquila 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 Thiago Etcheverry was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Maximiliano Ramos is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
The manager has a list and the board has a condition attached to it. That is not a crisis — half of football works this way — but it decides which of the two of them gets his way in August.
“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.
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.
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.
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 Facello 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.
Day 10 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. Thiago Etcheverry 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.
He is 16 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.
Marked 7.79 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Chacarita Juniors had the best player on the pitch.
The dugout11 Feb 2036
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.” Interim Coach, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
The end came on a Tuesday, as these things usually do: a short meeting, a shorter statement, and Hernán Godoy clearing his office by noon. Football’s cruellest ritual, performed to schedule.
Not an interim appointment — an institution with an empty coaching office. Somebody unfamiliar will run the sessions this week, and the question of how a club gets into this state is one the board will be asked and will not answer.
Two goals and a mark of 8.97 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
“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.
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.
100 for the club now, each one filed in somebody’s memory with a date and a scoreline. Numbers like this are what supporters argue about in twenty years.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Thiago Etcheverry 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.
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.
Gonzalo Dell Aquila 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.
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
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.
Francisco Facello 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 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 Jorge Medina trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
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.
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.
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 Francisco Facello is on it.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
“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. Alejandro González will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Chacarita Juniors the goodbyes have quietly begun.
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 happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph a local paper has to write. 34 years old, 3 points down on where he was, and a body that has started charging interest on a career.
Chacarita Juniors asked and Racing Club 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 had been thinking. Thiago Etcheverry 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.
Chacarita Juniors have made the call to Defensa y Justicia. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
“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.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Boca Juniors is saying, and nobody at Chacarita Juniors is enjoying the guessing.
Francisco Facello 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.
Chacarita Juniors asked and Acassuso 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 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.
Chacarita Juniors have made the call to Defensa y Justicia. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Chacarita Juniors have made the call to Tristán Suárez. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
“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.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Arsenal keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Gonzalo Dell Aquila 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Sarmiento have kept their man, and Chacarita Juniors go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Thiago Etcheverry 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 Brian Calderara is on it.
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Hernán Godoy has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
“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.
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. Vélez have kept their man, and Chacarita Juniors go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Brian Calderara has his answer from Chacarita Juniors; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
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.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Chacarita Juniors, another week without a signature from Ignacio Colombo.
Every squad has men who were signed by a particular manager and men who were merely inherited. Iván Costa is in the first group, and the man who wanted him here is no longer in the building.
Francisco Facello 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. Thiago Etcheverry 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.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager has not finished forgetting Jorge Medina's mistake
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thiago Etcheverry 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.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
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 Brian Calderara is on it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Francisco Facello signs something — a contract at Chacarita Juniors or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The words a physio says slowly. 16 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.
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.
Everybody saw it before anybody said it. At 37 the numbers say 3 points down on what he was, and the question for Chacarita Juniors is how to handle a man they owe a great deal.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Roberto Aguirre was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Chacarita Juniors, and both men came out saying it was fine.
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.
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
The words a physio says slowly. 23 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.
Francisco Facello 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. Thiago Etcheverry 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.
30 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.
“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.
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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Maximiliano Ramos and Chacarita Juniors agree another 3 years.
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 Francisco Facello is on it.
The dugout22 Oct 2035
The manager has not finished forgetting Jorge Medina's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
0‑4 against Estudiantes, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
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.
Position 17 on 13 points. Every season is a story and this is the last line of it, and now the club has three months to decide what the next one is about.
“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.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Thiago Etcheverry was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
12 combined actions and 7.09. The job he did is the one that shows up as other people looking good, and the only reliable way to notice it is to watch what happens on the afternoons he is missing.
14 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.
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
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.
Francisco Facello 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 thought about how hard another man trains, and Thiago Etcheverry was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
13 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 25 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Francisco Facello 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.
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.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Thiago Etcheverry was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
15 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
In brief
The dugoutHalf-satisfied: Hernán Godoy on the draw
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thiago Etcheverry 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.
Something was said to Roberto Aguirre and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
11 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.
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.
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
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.
Marked 6.81 on 19 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
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.
Francisco Facello 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. Thiago Etcheverry 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.
0‑1 to Estudiantes, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout27 Aug 2035
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 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Hernán Godoy to a room that had heard them before.
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
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.
1‑10 to Villa Dálmine, 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.
Position 17 and 11 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
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.
11 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Chacarita Juniors and Villa Dálmine in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Everybody saw it before anybody said it. At 37 the numbers say 3 points down on what he was, and the question for Chacarita Juniors is how to handle a man they owe a great deal.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thiago Etcheverry 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 74 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
7 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
“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.
5 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Chacarita Juniors can tell you which week it ends in.
Francisco Facello 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.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Búfalo 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.
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.
6 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.
Francisco Facello 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.
4 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Chacarita Juniors can tell you which week it ends in.
Chacarita Juniors asked and Central Córdoba SdE said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
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.
0‑3 against Sportivo Italiano, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
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.
4 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Thiago Etcheverry was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
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.
“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.
Francisco Facello 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.
Chacarita Juniors asked and Deportivo Merlo 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 Thiago Etcheverry 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.
“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.
11 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Defensores Unidos were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
The deal with Lanús 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 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Thiago Etcheverry. 1‑0 against Defensores Unidos, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Every long career reaches the week the player starts thinking about the last one. He would like it to be at the club that first put him on a pitch, and Chacarita Juniors now know that too.
10 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.
Everything agreed with Defensa y Justicia, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Francisco Facello 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.
“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 afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Thiago Etcheverry was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
7 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.
Francisco Facello 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.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Jorge Medina and Chacarita Juniors agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout14 May 2035
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 1‑2 defeat, delivered by Hernán Godoy to a room that had heard them before.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
6 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.
Francisco Facello 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.
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
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 demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Brian Calderara is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
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.
4 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thiago Etcheverry 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 supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑5, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
19 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.
A midfielder is measured on whether the team functions when he is on the pitch, which is nearly impossible to see and completely obvious in retrospect. 17 actions, 6.85, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
Francisco Facello 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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Lautaro Napolitano signs something — a contract at Chacarita Juniors or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
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.
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.
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.
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 Francisco Facello is on it.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 30 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
5 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.
Francisco Facello 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.
At 37, 3 points below where he was, and a body that has started charging interest. It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph on this page.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Thiago Etcheverry was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 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 Chacarita Juniors this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 51 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Francisco Facello 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 Thiago Etcheverry was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Beaten 5 times, 3 saves, and an afternoon that will go on his record whether it was his fault or the defence’s. It is the quiet unfairness of the position.
Francisco Facello 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.
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thiago Etcheverry 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 Sebastián Sosa is on it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Thiago Etcheverry was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Francisco Facello 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. Thiago Etcheverry 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 most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. Chacarita Juniors will quote 14 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
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 Brian Calderara is on it.
“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.
Francisco Facello 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.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Chacarita Juniors, and both men came out saying it was fine.
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 Fernando López is on 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.
“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.
Francisco Facello 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.
Chacarita Juniors offered $31.0K; Gimnasia y Tiro said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Defensa y Justicia have kept their man, and Chacarita Juniors go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thiago Etcheverry 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.
Chacarita Juniors ran out of time with Argentinos Juniors. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never 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.
Argentinos Juniors have accepted the money. What Chacarita Juniors do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Francisco Facello 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 offer went to Gimnasia y Tiro this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Thiago Etcheverry 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Sebastián Moretti trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Lautaro Napolitano signs something — a contract at Chacarita Juniors or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
22 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 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.
$4.0K on the table at Argentinos Juniors. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
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.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
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.
“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.
The dugout27 Nov 2034
The manager has not finished forgetting Luis Blanco's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Francisco Facello 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 Thiago Etcheverry was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Francisco Facello 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.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Juan Martín Vázquez and Chacarita Juniors agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
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.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Chacarita Juniors, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Position 11 on 35 points. Every season is a story and this is the last line of it, and now the club has three months to decide what the next one is about.
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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Hernán Godoy after 1‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
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.
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.