49 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Córdoba lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Willy Kambwala 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.
“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 The request is on a desk at Córdoba, and it is not being withdrawn.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Dani Tasende damages knee ligaments — 120 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 120 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Córdoba 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 team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Willy Kambwala 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.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Córdoba, another week without a signature from Mario Ruiz.
Dani Tasende damages knee ligaments — 127 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 127 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Córdoba will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Córdoba this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom22 Aug 2039
12 academy players handed senior numbers at Córdoba
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Fernando Campos has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Héctor Herrera 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.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Andrés Méndez has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Dani Tasende damages knee ligaments — 134 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 134 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Córdoba will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Dani Tasende damages knee ligaments — 141 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 141 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Córdoba will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
505 appearances across 11 seasons in one shirt. Nobody builds a career like that on purpose any more; it happens to a certain kind of footballer at a certain kind of club.
Dani Tasende damages knee ligaments — 148 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 148 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Córdoba will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Dani Tasende damages knee ligaments — 155 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 155 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Córdoba 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 Córdoba can pretend not to have heard.
Dani Tasende damages knee ligaments — 162 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 162 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Córdoba will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
88 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Córdoba lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Córdoba will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Córdoba this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
95 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Córdoba lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Córdoba will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
101 appearances across 9 seasons in one shirt. Nobody builds a career like that on purpose any more; it happens to a certain kind of footballer at a certain kind of club.
102 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Córdoba lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Córdoba will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
109 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Córdoba lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Córdoba will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Willy Kambwala 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.
In brief
SquadIago André falls out with a teammate over standards
BoardroomWages eat 101% of everything Córdoba earn
BoardroomThe Córdoba production line keeps running