Marked for Martín Baeza
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad4 Jun 2029
A fracture rules Matías Ramos out for 93 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Güemes will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match2 Jun 2029
No mercy from Güemes
Gimnasia y Tiro will want this one forgotten quickly: 4‑1, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Güemes were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Market4 Jun 2029
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Player ratings4 Jun 2029
A brace, and Angel Uñates takes the afternoon — 8.33
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Angel Uñates provided it, and the 8.33 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Player ratings4 Jun 2029
A defender's goal wins it for Güemes — 7.82
1 for Gianfranco Baier, marked 7.82, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
The dugout4 Jun 2029
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Transfer targets4 Jun 2029
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Güemes have done the hard part with Deportivo Armenio, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad4 Jun 2029
Words exchanged at Güemes
David Veliz 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.
Squad4 Jun 2029
Words at Güemes training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Milton Gerez 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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad21 May 2029
107 days out for Matías Ramos after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Güemes will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad21 May 2029
A row about effort at Güemes
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Milton Gerez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings21 May 2029
Ninety minutes of David Veliz at his very best
Marked 8.14. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Güemes.
Match19 May 2029
Level with 86 minutes on the clock, after an afternoon Güemes had all but put away. All Boys will call it a point earned; the home dressing room will call it two given away, and both of them are right.
Match19 May 2029
It finished 3‑3, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
Squad21 May 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Liam Fernández and Güemes agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad21 May 2029
A falling-out at Güemes
Nicolás Rodríguez and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout21 May 2029
The manager makes an example of Martín Baeza
“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 dugout21 May 2029
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Interim Coach after the 3‑3 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings26 Mar 2029
A defender's goal wins it for Güemes — 7.38
1 for Gianfranco Baier, marked 7.38, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
Squad26 Mar 2029
Tempers go at Güemes
David Veliz 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.
Match24 Mar 2029
Beaten 2‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout26 Mar 2029
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 2‑3 defeat, delivered by Interim Coach to a room that had heard them before.
Player ratings26 Mar 2029
Successful dribbles: 13. 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 dugout26 Mar 2029
A promise honoured at Güemes
Something was said to Oliwier Butrym and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
The dugout26 Mar 2029
The manager makes an example of Martín Baeza
“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.
Market26 Mar 2029
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Gianluca Pugliese’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
The dugout26 Mar 2029
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.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Boardroom26 Feb 2029
Güemes interviewed the field and appointed the corridor: Interim Coach keeps the job he had been doing in all but title. Sometimes the safest pair of hands is the one already holding the wheel.
Match24 Feb 2029
Some goals win a match and some take one off somebody else. Angel Uñates scored in the 86th minute, Racing had already begun thinking about the journey home, and Güemes took the lot.
Match24 Feb 2029
Güemes make it 5 in a row
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Güemes have 5 straight wins of it.
Squad26 Feb 2029
Tempers go at Güemes
David Veliz 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.
Squad26 Feb 2029
Milton Gerez 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.
Match24 Feb 2029
Güemes get the job done against Racing
A 2‑1 win over Racing, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings26 Feb 2029
Milton Gerez was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.27. 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.
Player ratings26 Feb 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.06, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
The dugout26 Feb 2029
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑1, Interim Coach could afford to be generous.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad8 Jan 2029
David Veliz in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Güemes this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad8 Jan 2029
Milton Gerez 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.
Transfer targets8 Jan 2029
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
The dugout8 Jan 2029
The manager makes an example of Martín Baeza
“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.
Market8 Jan 2029
David Veliz linked with a move away
The name of David Veliz keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Güemes say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad8 Jan 2029
“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 Güemes will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad16 Oct 2028
A row about effort at Güemes
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Milton Gerez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad16 Oct 2028
Words exchanged at Güemes
Angel Uñates 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 dugout16 Oct 2028
Maico Quiroz knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Güemes, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market2 Oct 2028
“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 Güemes, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout2 Oct 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Güemes may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad2 Oct 2028
Words exchanged at Güemes
David Veliz 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.
Boardroom2 Oct 2028
Belts tighten at Güemes
The accounts are being read more closely than the results. Wages before ambition is the order of business now, and the manager has been told so.
Squad2 Oct 2028
Words at Güemes training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Maico Quiroz 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.
Market2 Oct 2028
Martín Baeza is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Güemes has been clear about where Martín Baeza stands, which is more than many ever get.
Squad2 Oct 2028
The captaincy has been taken off Tomás Oneto. Güemes will call it a decision about the team; a dressing room reads it as a verdict on a man.
The dugout2 Oct 2028
Tomás Oneto asks for a word with the manager
“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.
Market2 Oct 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Güemes know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings7 Aug 2028
Successful dribbles: 28. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad7 Aug 2028
Tempers go at Güemes
David Veliz 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.
Boardroom7 Aug 2028
The numbers do not look good at Güemes
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.
Squad7 Aug 2028
Words at Güemes training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Maico Quiroz 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.
Squad7 Aug 2028
David Veliz named in the team of the month
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. David Veliz is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
The dugout7 Aug 2028
The manager makes an example of Martín Baeza
“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.
Market7 Aug 2028
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Güemes, another week without a signature from Tomás Oneto.
Squad7 Aug 2028
No place for Oliwier Butrym in the new shape
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Güemes are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
The dugout7 Aug 2028
Juan Mendoza knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Güemes, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad27 Mar 2028
Tempers go at Güemes
Santiago Sala 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.
Squad27 Mar 2028
A row about effort at Güemes
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Rodrigo Arnay was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout27 Mar 2028
Franco Bergés gets picked when it counts
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 Franco Bergés is on it.
Market27 Mar 2028
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Maico Quiroz’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Market27 Mar 2028
Güemes have let the market know Franco Bergés can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
Looking ahead27 Mar 2028
They sit in position 12 and they will be waiting. Away form is where a season shows its true character, and this side has a point to make about its own.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market7 Feb 2028
Franco Bergés hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Güemes can pretend not to have heard.
Market7 Feb 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Güemes is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Match5 Feb 2028
Güemes make it 3 in a row
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Güemes have 3 straight wins of it.
Squad7 Feb 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Güemes this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market7 Feb 2028
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Market7 Feb 2028
As if he never left: Youssef Ismail returns
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Youssef Ismail is a Güemes player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Boardroom7 Feb 2028
Graduation day at Güemes
2 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Player ratings7 Feb 2028
Successful dribbles: 20. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Match5 Feb 2028
It finished 2‑1, and it was Santiago Sala’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Güemes.
In brief
-
Match
Güemes keep winning on the road
-
Player ratings
David Veliz was on a different afternoon to everybody else
-
Boardroom
Güemes let a promise lapse