The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Jorge Rajado did not need any: 7.81, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Jano Monserrate has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
The 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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Atlético Madrileño is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Aleksa Purić 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.
100 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Atlético Madrileño, and both men came out saying it was fine.
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 Carlos Giménez.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Atlético Madrileño this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Aleksa Purić 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.
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
The dugout13 Mar 2028
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 0‑3 Nicolás Prieto left the room before anybody could ask which.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Marc Pubill trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Every touch weighed, every quote parsed, every mistake replayed. Some players grow into that; some are quietly finished by it; nobody knows which until afterwards.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Jorge Castillo has agreed terms with Rayo Vallecano for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
9 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Atlético Madrileño has to find a result from somewhere.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Atlético Madrileño they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
4 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Aleksa Purić 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.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Atlético Madrileño has been clear about where Gerónimo Spina stands, which is more than many ever get.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Nicolás Prieto after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Atlético Madrileño is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Aleksa Purić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
Rafa Llorente 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. Jorge Castillo 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.
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout24 Jan 2028
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Nicolás Prieto chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Atlético Madrileño have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Atlético Madrileño they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Iker Luque and Atlético Madrileño agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jorge Castillo 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.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Nicolás Prieto after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
The dugout10 Jan 2028
Somebody else is better right now than Dani Martínez
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Rafa Llorente. 1‑0 against Betis Deportivo, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
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 month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Jano Monserrate is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 1‑0, Nicolás Prieto could afford to be generous.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
Sabadell next, and one man in the Atlético Madrileño dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Juan Musso 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. Jorge Castillo 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 has had enough of the noise. Whether Atlético Madrileño can be a quieter place for him, or whether the only cure is a move somewhere the phone-ins are gentler, is a question for the next few months.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
The dugout20 Dec 2027
Somebody else is better right now than Adrián Corral
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Ninety minutes of very little, and then everything at once. The winner arrived in the 87th, and Gimnàstic spent what remained of the match appealing to the referee rather than chasing the ball.
9 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Gimnàstic were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
At 22 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Juan Musso 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 21 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Marked 8.09 — 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jorge Castillo 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.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager’s verdict
The dugoutAdrián Corral knocks on the manager's door
8 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Atlético Madrileño has to find a result from somewhere.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Atlético Madrileño this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 22 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.
Player ratings29 Nov 2027
Koke was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.48. 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.
Minute 87, against Eldense, 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jorge Castillo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Atlético Madrileño has to find a result from somewhere.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Javi Morcillo and Atlético Madrileño agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
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 dugout22 Nov 2027
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 Nicolás Prieto to a room that had heard them before.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at Atlético Madrileño that is a harder question to answer.
“I am not asking anybody to be better than they are. I am asking everybody to be as good as they are, every week.” Said out loud, in front of everybody, and the room at Atlético Madrileño was different afterwards.
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Atlético Madrileño has to find a result from somewhere.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Atlético Madrileño 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.
The dugout8 Nov 2027
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 1‑2 Nicolás Prieto left the room before anybody could ask which.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Atlético Madrileño will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Atlético Madrileño, and both men came out saying it was fine.
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.
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.
Behind, and beaten by any honest reading, until minute 88. Granada had the points in their pocket and a corner of the ground still believed, which is generally when it happens.
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 respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
Juan Musso 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Alejandro Mestanza and Atlético Madrileño agree another 4 years.
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Atlético Madrileño can tell you which week it ends in.
100 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
The dugout25 Oct 2027
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 Nicolás Prieto to a room that had heard them before.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Atlético Madrileño, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Ilias Kostis 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 Jorge Castillo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
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.
Juan Musso 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 Jorge Castillo 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.” Nicolás Prieto after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Atlético Madrileño, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Juan Musso has his answer from Atlético Madrileño; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jorge Castillo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Atlético Madrileño will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
It will be explained as a change for the team and it may even be one. Nobody who has worn one believes that, and neither does the man who has just had it taken away.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Atlético Madrileño, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jorge Castillo 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 manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
“I am not asking anybody to be better than they are. I am asking everybody to be as good as they are, every week.” Said out loud, in front of everybody, and the room at Atlético Madrileño was different afterwards.
In brief
The dugoutDani Martínez asks for a word with the manager
Ilias Kostis 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 Jorge Castillo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Jorge Castillo trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Ilias Kostis 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Marc Pubill trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Atlético Madrileño people have started saying his name in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Atlético Madrileño 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 Jorge Castillo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Iker Luque has written the date down.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Atlético Madrileño, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Atlético Madrileño this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jorge Castillo 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Gerónimo Spina 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 Jorge Castillo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Atlético Madrileño 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 Jorge Castillo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
1 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Atlético Madrileño could ask drops and the wages Salvi Esquivel can ask rise.
It is a specific kind of quiet, a ground watching a winning position dissolve. Alcorcón kept coming because nothing stopped them, and Atlético Madrileño 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 Ilias Kostis was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Jorge Castillo 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.
Marked 8.23 — 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.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Atlético Madrileño, and both men came out saying it was fine.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Jorge Rajado signs something — a contract at Atlético Madrileño or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Atlético Madrileño has to find a result from somewhere.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ilias Kostis and Atlético Madrileño agree another 3 years.
Ilias Kostis 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 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jorge Castillo 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.” Nicolás Prieto after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Atlético Madrileño they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Ilias Kostis 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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Nicolás Prieto after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The team at the top of the table next, and the honest measure of where this side actually is. Anybody can beat the club below them; the question is what happens against Hércules.
Something was said to Jano Monserrate and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
Successful dribbles: 12. 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 Atlético Madrileño they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Atlético Madrileño this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Jorge Castillo has his answer from Atlético Madrileño; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
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.” Nicolás Prieto chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
One weekend, judged against everybody else's. Arnau Ortiz has come out on top of it, and for most footballers a weekly award is the only silverware a career ever produces.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Villarreal B? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
“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.
Ilias Kostis and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
At 22 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jorge Castillo 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.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Atlético Madrileño will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Atlético Madrileño than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
“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.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 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.
At 20 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.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
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 2‑3 Nicolás Prieto left the room before anybody could ask which.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dani Martínez 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.
At 21 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Rayane Belaid 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.
Successful dribbles: 19. 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Arnau Ortiz. 1‑0 against Juventud Torremolinos, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Aleksa Purić 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.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Arnau Ortiz was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.15. 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 dugout21 Dec 2026
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.” Nicolás Prieto, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
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.
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
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 Nicolás Prieto left the room before anybody could ask which.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Atlético Madrileño will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Atlético Madrileño has been clear about where Koke stands, which is more than many ever get.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Rafa Llorente and Atlético Madrileño agree another 3 years.
0‑1 to Algeciras, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Aleksa Purić 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.
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Salvi Esquivel has come out of that comparison in the side, and Atlético Madrileño have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Cartagena in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Jorge Rajado did not need any: 8.07, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Rafa Llorente and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Rafa Llorente has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑1, Nicolás Prieto could afford to be generous.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dani Martínez 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.