Marked for Lautaro Amarelle
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market15 Jan 2029
The offer from Semen Padang for Nicolás Borsotti was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Market15 Jan 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 Central Córdoba SdE can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets15 Jan 2029
$850.0K on the table at Rosario Central. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Transfer targets15 Jan 2029
Everything agreed with Gimnasia y Tiro, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Transfer targets15 Jan 2029
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at River Plate is saying, and nobody at Central Córdoba SdE is enjoying the guessing.
Squad15 Jan 2029
Santiago Moyano and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad15 Jan 2029
Words at Central Córdoba SdE training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Joaquín Gho 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.
Transfer targets15 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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market20 Nov 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 The request is on a desk at Central Córdoba SdE, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad20 Nov 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Santiago Moyano was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad20 Nov 2028
Fredy Colmán 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 Central Córdoba SdE this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout20 Nov 2028
A promise honoured for José Gómez
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Central Córdoba SdE told José Gómez something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
The dugout20 Nov 2028
“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 dugout20 Nov 2028
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Market20 Nov 2028
José Gómez runs his contract down
1 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Central Córdoba SdE money.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market6 Nov 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Central Córdoba SdE can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings6 Nov 2028
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.93 for the rest of it.
The dugout6 Nov 2028
Lautaro Amarelle: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Central Córdoba SdE have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market6 Nov 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Central Córdoba SdE is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad6 Nov 2028
Fernando Martínez 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.
Squad6 Nov 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Joaquín Gho was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The terraces6 Nov 2028
He is 23 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
The dugout6 Nov 2028
The manager makes an example of José Gómez
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad18 Sep 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 Central Córdoba SdE this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad18 Sep 2028
Words at Central Córdoba SdE training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Santiago Moyano 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.
Loan watch18 Sep 2028
“I watch every Central Córdoba SdE game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Hapoel Tel Aviv runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Looking ahead18 Sep 2028
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Joaquín Gho’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Central Córdoba SdE needing him to play as if none of it matters.
The dugout18 Sep 2028
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Market18 Sep 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Central Córdoba SdE know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout18 Sep 2028
Thiago López 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market26 Jun 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 Central Córdoba SdE, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market26 Jun 2028
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Walter Reynoso had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
Transfer targets26 Jun 2028
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Central Córdoba SdE have done the hard part with Lanús, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Transfer targets26 Jun 2028
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at River Plate is saying, and nobody at Central Córdoba SdE is enjoying the guessing.
Squad26 Jun 2028
Santiago Moyano 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 targets26 Jun 2028
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.
Squad26 Jun 2028
Fredy Colmán 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 Central Córdoba SdE this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match25 Apr 2028
Argentino de Merlo ended it 0‑0. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.
Squad1 May 2028
Joaquín Gho 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.
The terraces1 May 2028
He is 21 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Player ratings1 May 2028
Successful dribbles: 19. 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.
Squad1 May 2028
Fredy Colmán 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 Central Córdoba SdE this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout1 May 2028
The manager makes an example of Lucas Bernabéu
“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.
Squad1 May 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Julián Alveira and Central Córdoba SdE agree another 3 years.
Player ratings1 May 2028
Twelve yards and the whole ground holding its breath, and it did not go in. He will put his name down for the next one, which is the only thing to do.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout27 Mar 2028
Lucas Bernabéu: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Central Córdoba SdE have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Santiago Moyano 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.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Joaquín Gho was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad27 Mar 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Lautaro Amarelle and Central Córdoba SdE agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout27 Mar 2028
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Central Córdoba SdE told Daniel Ribera something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
The dugout27 Mar 2028
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Central Córdoba SdE, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Looking ahead27 Mar 2028
Belgrano next, and one man in the Central Córdoba SdE dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Market27 Mar 2028
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Facundo Mansilla signs something — a contract at Central Córdoba SdE or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.