Marked for Jerónimo Echeverri
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout17 May 2027
“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.
Squad17 May 2027
A row about effort at Leones
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Germán Meneses was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad17 May 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Leones this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad17 May 2027
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Leones will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
The dugout17 May 2027
The team sheet said everything about Germán Meneses
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 Germán Meneses.
Match15 May 2027
A 1‑1 draw with Fortaleza CEIF leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Player ratings17 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 14. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout17 May 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” James Medina was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Leones dressing room was either.
The dugout17 May 2027
Roinner Fruto dropped after a run of poor form
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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match3 Apr 2027
A hiding for Leones
Beaten 0‑3 by Llaneros, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Market5 Apr 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Tempers go at Leones
Bryan Caicedo 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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Germán Meneses 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.
Match5 Apr 2027
Leones at the halfway mark
Half the programme played, position 5, 19 on the board. Doubling it is the sum every supporter has done and the only one nobody at the club will do out loud.
Boardroom5 Apr 2027
Doors closed at Leones
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 dugout5 Apr 2027
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” James Medina after 0‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Squad5 Apr 2027
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Jonathan Marulanda is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market8 Feb 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Tempers go at Leones
Bryan Caicedo 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.
Squad8 Feb 2027
A row about effort at Leones
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Germán Meneses was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
Ninety minutes of Thomás Amilivia at his very best
Marked 8.01. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Leones.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
Marked 8.01. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Leones.
Squad8 Feb 2027
A place in the month's best eleven for Thomás Amilivia
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Thomás Amilivia has come out of that comparison in the side, and Leones have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” James Medina on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
Market8 Feb 2027
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Juan José Castaño has his answer from Leones; what he does with it is the next window’s story.