Marked for Joaquín Núñez
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market14 Oct 2030
Falah Waleed 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 Al Dhafra can pretend not to have heard.
Squad14 Oct 2030
A one-man rearguard from Majed Obaid
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad14 Oct 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Al Dhafra this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match12 Oct 2030
A 4‑3 win over Emirates Club, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings14 Oct 2030
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.18, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings14 Oct 2030
One of those days for Marcelinho
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.95, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings14 Oct 2030
A performance of 8.48 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad14 Oct 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Khalil Ibrahim, and the manager let it.
Squad14 Oct 2030
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Al Dhafra are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom2 Sep 2030
The scrutiny sharpens at Al Dhafra
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Al Dhafra is running low.
Boardroom2 Sep 2030
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
Market2 Sep 2030
“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 The request is on a desk at Al Dhafra, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad2 Sep 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Al Dhafra this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market2 Sep 2030
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Omar Abdulrahman is a Al Dhafra player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Market2 Sep 2030
The shirt still fits. Saeed Juma is back at Al Dhafra, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Market2 Sep 2030
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.
Squad2 Sep 2030
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Khalil Ibrahim and Al Dhafra agree another 2 years.
Boardroom2 Sep 2030
A promise the Al Dhafra board did not keep
There was a commitment, there was a date, and the date went past. Trust at a football club takes years to build and one afternoon to spend.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market12 Aug 2030
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Al Dhafra can pretend not to have heard.
Squad12 Aug 2030
Ibrahim Bayesh 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.
Market12 Aug 2030
Add another name to the list: Al Shaab have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Alejandro Hales. The answer from Al Dhafra has not changed — yet.
Squad12 Aug 2030
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Al Dhafra are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Market12 Aug 2030
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Abderahmane Soussi signs something — a contract at Al Dhafra or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Squad12 Aug 2030
Somebody is after Jobson’s shirt
A new face in his position, and Jobson suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Al Dhafra have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market22 Jul 2030
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Al Dhafra can pretend not to have heard.
Squad22 Jul 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Al Dhafra this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad22 Jul 2030
“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.
Market22 Jul 2030
The Jobson talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Al Dhafra know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Market22 Jul 2030
Al Dhafra have made Joaquín Núñez available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
Market22 Jul 2030
Contract settled, hands shaken, no fee changing hands. Omar Rashid leaves Al Dhafra the quiet way, and the wage bill breathes a little easier.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market24 Jun 2030
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Al Dhafra can pretend not to have heard.
Squad24 Jun 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Al Dhafra this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market24 Jun 2030
The Jobson talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Al Dhafra know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad24 Jun 2030
Aref Rostami knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Aref Rostami trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market24 Jun 2030
Al Dhafra have let the market know Joaquín Núñez can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
Squad24 Jun 2030
The shrug has gone, the language is coming, and he now argues in training like somebody who expects to be here next year. Half a signing's value is this and none of it appears on a fee.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom10 Jun 2030
The scrutiny sharpens at Al Dhafra
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Al Dhafra is running low.
Market10 Jun 2030
“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 Al Dhafra, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad10 Jun 2030
61 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad10 Jun 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Al Dhafra this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad10 Jun 2030
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Al Dhafra know it.
Market10 Jun 2030
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Serafim’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market29 Apr 2030
Juan Espinosa 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 Al Dhafra can pretend not to have heard.
Squad29 Apr 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Al Dhafra this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market29 Apr 2030
The Jobson talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Al Dhafra know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad29 Apr 2030
Salem Abdullah knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Salem Abdullah trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market29 Apr 2030
Al Dhafra have let the market know Joaquín Núñez can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
Squad29 Apr 2030
The shrug has gone, the language is coming, and he now argues in training like somebody who expects to be here next year. Half a signing's value is this and none of it appears on a fee.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom8 Apr 2030
Khalfan Al Naqbi has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Al Dhafra can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Market8 Apr 2030
“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 Apr 2030
Ibrahim Bayesh 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 Apr 2030
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Al Dhafra are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad8 Apr 2030
“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.
Market8 Apr 2030
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Al Dhafra know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market25 Mar 2030
Joaquín Núñez 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 Al Dhafra can pretend not to have heard.
Squad25 Mar 2030
Ibrahim Bayesh 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.
Boardroom25 Mar 2030
145% of the income goes out in wages at Al Dhafra
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad18 Feb 2030
A one-man rearguard from Majed Obaid
There were 13 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Match16 Feb 2030
No end in sight to Al Dhafra's wait for a win
11 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Al Dhafra has to find a result from somewhere.
Boardroom18 Feb 2030
The scrutiny sharpens at Al Dhafra
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Al Dhafra is running low.
Squad18 Feb 2030
A season average of 7.73 with 15 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Market18 Feb 2030
“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 Al Dhafra, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market18 Feb 2030
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Alejandro Bravo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Al Dhafra the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad18 Feb 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Al Dhafra this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings18 Feb 2030
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.97, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings18 Feb 2030
One of those days for Serafim
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.39, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match30 Jul 2029
Colon sink to position 14
20 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market30 Jul 2029
“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 Colon, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match28 Jul 2029
No end in sight to Colon's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Colon has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad30 Jul 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Colon this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings30 Jul 2029
Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad30 Jul 2029
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Colon are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Match28 Jul 2029
A 1‑1 draw with Nacional leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Squad30 Jul 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Joel Medina, and the manager let it.
Squad30 Jul 2029
A booking nobody needed, on a night the game was already won. Colon lose a player for the most avoidable reason there is.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market23 Jul 2029
“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.
Market23 Jul 2029
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Kevin Rodríguez reports back to Colon with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
Squad23 Jul 2029
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.
Squad23 Jul 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.
Market23 Jul 2029
Joaquín Núñez has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Colon they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad23 Jul 2029
Tempers go at Colon
Leandro Méndez 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.
Match21 Jul 2029
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings23 Jul 2029
Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings23 Jul 2029
One lapse, one goal, and ninety minutes of honest work counting for nothing. That is the job at Colon, and it is a cruel one.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market25 Jun 2029
“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 Colon, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market25 Jun 2029
Joaquín Núñez has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Colon they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad25 Jun 2029
Tempers go at Colon
Leandro Méndez 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.
Squad25 Jun 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Andrés Olivera, and the manager let it.
Match23 Jun 2029
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings25 Jun 2029
Nobody could get near Bryan Paz
Successful dribbles: 14. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad25 Jun 2029
Leison Cuero 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.
Market25 Jun 2029
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Agustín Olavarría’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Player ratings25 Jun 2029
5.47 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match2 Jun 2029
The wait goes on for Colon
13 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.
Market4 Jun 2029
“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.
Match4 Jun 2029
Every point is an argument now for Colon
Position 14 and 10 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Squad4 Jun 2029
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.
Squad4 Jun 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Colon this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad4 Jun 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Lucas Suárez and Colon agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Player ratings4 Jun 2029
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad4 Jun 2029
31 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Market4 Jun 2029
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market16 Apr 2029
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Luciano Centurión will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Colon the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad16 Apr 2029
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Colon have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market16 Apr 2029
“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.
Match14 Apr 2029
The wait goes on for Colon
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.
Squad16 Apr 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Colon this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match14 Apr 2029
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad16 Apr 2029
“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.
Player ratings16 Apr 2029
A performance of 8.27 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad16 Apr 2029
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market2 Apr 2029
Bryan Paz puts it in writing
“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 Colon, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad2 Apr 2029
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad2 Apr 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Colon this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match31 Mar 2029
A bad afternoon for Colon against Wanderers
1‑2 to Wanderers, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad2 Apr 2029
“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.
Player ratings2 Apr 2029
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.
Squad2 Apr 2029
Leandro Méndez knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Leandro Méndez trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market2 Apr 2029
The name of Leandro Méndez keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Colon say nothing, which says plenty.
Player ratings2 Apr 2029
Marked 5.35, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market26 Mar 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Colon can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings26 Mar 2029
Defensive actions: 26. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad26 Mar 2029
Tempers go at Colon
Leandro Méndez 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 Mar 2029
“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.
Player ratings26 Mar 2029
Defensive actions: 19, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings26 Mar 2029
Successful dribbles: 13. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match24 Mar 2029
Point won or two lost for Colon?
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Racing? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
Market26 Mar 2029
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Agustín Olavarría’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Player ratings26 Mar 2029
A mark of 5.74 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match14 Mar 2029
Colon through in the cup
A 1‑0 win over Progreso, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Market19 Mar 2029
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Colon they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Market19 Mar 2029
Joaquín Núñez 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 Colon can pretend not to have heard.
Squad19 Mar 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Colon this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings19 Mar 2029
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 21 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Match17 Mar 2029
A bad afternoon for Colon against Cerro
0‑2 to Cerro, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings19 Mar 2029
Marked 8.76 — 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.
Player ratings19 Mar 2029
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings19 Mar 2029
Defensive actions: 18, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.