“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Independiente Rivadavia can pretend not to have heard.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Independiente Rivadavia may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
The name of Tomás Bottari has come up in conversations Independiente Rivadavia were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
$86.0K on the table at Estudiantes. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tomás Bottari 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 tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Independiente Rivadavia can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Independiente Rivadavia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Facundo Mater 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.
Successful dribbles: 15. 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.
“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.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Independiente Rivadavia has been clear about where Facundo Ortíz stands, which is more than many ever get.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Tigre? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Independiente Rivadavia 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 Independiente Rivadavia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stefano Moreyra 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 here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout28 Feb 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 1‑2 Ricardo Russo left the room before anybody could ask which.
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.
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 Independiente Rivadavia can pretend not to have heard.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stefano Moreyra 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.
Santiago Cena and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Tomás Bottari signs something — a contract at Independiente Rivadavia or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Independiente Rivadavia, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“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 Independiente Rivadavia, and it is not being withdrawn.
José Florentín 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.
Successful dribbles: 22. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
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 paperwork is done long before the player is. Renzo Lo Bianco has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Independiente Rivadavia have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Ricardo Russo after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer 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 Independiente Rivadavia, 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 Independiente Rivadavia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stefano Moreyra 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.
Argentinos Juniors will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Alan Ovelar has pre-agreed a move to Independiente Rivadavia, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Independiente Rivadavia, and 2 appearances in 6 say he has earned the hearing.
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Independiente Rivadavia has to find a result from somewhere.
Ezequiel Bonifacio 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.” Facundo Ortíz and Independiente Rivadavia agree another 4 years.
The dugout10 May 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 Ricardo Russo to a room that had heard them before.
7 goals in 13 games at Sol de America — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Independiente Rivadavia updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
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.
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.
Iván Villalba 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 a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Nicolás Bolcato 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 easiest signature of my career.” Facundo Ortíz and Independiente Rivadavia agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
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.
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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Fabrizio Sartori. 1‑0 against Banfield, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Marked 6.94 on 9 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
Successful dribbles: 15. 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.
“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 dugout15 Feb 2027
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.” Ricardo Russo, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
“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 Independiente Rivadavia, 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.” Leonard Costa and Independiente Rivadavia agree another 4 years.
Marcos Narváez 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.
Nobody at Independiente Rivadavia 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.
It is the least glamorous business a club does and the reason seasons do not collapse in February. Nahuel Suárez is here for the weeks when three men are injured and somebody still has to play.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Independiente Rivadavia, another week without a signature from Facundo Ortíz.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Kevin Vázquez trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.