Marked for Lucas Escalante
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market6 Dec 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Ferro Carril Oeste have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Market6 Dec 2027
Uriel Valdez 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 Ferro Carril Oeste can pretend not to have heard.
Squad6 Dec 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 Ferro Carril Oeste this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout6 Dec 2027
This is not rotation. Gustavo Canto has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Ferro Carril Oeste is pretending otherwise.
Market6 Dec 2027
A conversation is coming this week. Ferro Carril Oeste will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ulises Yegros was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets6 Dec 2027
Nueva Chicago have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
The dugout6 Dec 2027
Santiago García has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Ferro Carril Oeste 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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market22 Nov 2027
“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 The request is on a desk at Ferro Carril Oeste, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market22 Nov 2027
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Fabrizio Delgadillo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Ferro Carril Oeste the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Enzo Hoyos and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Words at Ferro Carril Oeste training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Misael Tarón 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.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
Enzo Hoyos 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 Enzo Hoyos trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Loan watch22 Nov 2027
37 starts and an average of 6.92. He went there to play and he is playing, which is the only thing a loan was ever for.
Market22 Nov 2027
The shop window has Enzo Hoyos in it
Ferro Carril Oeste have let the market know Enzo Hoyos can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
Loan watch22 Nov 2027
10 appearances away from home and 4 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
Market22 Nov 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Ulises Yegros’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad8 Nov 2027
Misael Tarón 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 Nov 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ulises Yegros was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad8 Nov 2027
A month that belonged to Tobías Pérez
The young player of the month award goes to a 20-year-old at Ferro Carril Oeste who has looked like the finished article for four weekends running. The next four are the ones that decide whether he is.
Market8 Nov 2027
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Squad8 Nov 2027
A place in the month's best eleven for Tobías Pérez
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Tobías Pérez has come out of that comparison in the side, and Ferro Carril Oeste have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
The dugout8 Nov 2027
Santiago García has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Ferro Carril Oeste 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.
The dugout8 Nov 2027
The manager makes an example of Nicolás Raggio
“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 dugout8 Nov 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Ferro Carril Oeste, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout8 Nov 2027
Lucas Escalante is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad11 Oct 2027
Misael Tarón 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.
Market11 Oct 2027
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Words at Ferro Carril Oeste training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gustavo Canto 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 watch11 Oct 2027
“I did not go to Beitar Jerusalem to sit and watch. I want to come back to Ferro Carril Oeste and fight for my place.” 5 appearances in 17 matches say the rest.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
Santiago García has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Ferro Carril Oeste 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.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
Enzo Hoyos 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.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Lucas Escalante's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market20 Sep 2027
“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 Ferro Carril Oeste, and it is not being withdrawn.
Loan watch20 Sep 2027
Leonel Szalich’s loan is measured in nothing happening
17 clean sheets from 30 appearances at Antofagasta. That is the whole of a goalkeeper’s job done properly, and it is being done a long way from the club that owns him.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Federico Tevez 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.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Misael Tarón 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.
Match18 Sep 2027
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Loan watch20 Sep 2027
“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 Ferro Carril Oeste, and 4 appearances in 32 say he has earned the hearing.
The dugout20 Sep 2027
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
The dugout20 Sep 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.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Tobías Pérez, 20, is the weekend’s best young player
Measured against every other kid in the division and first among them. The senior award is where Ferro Carril Oeste would like this to lead.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market13 Sep 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ferro Carril Oeste can pretend not to have heard.
Match11 Sep 2027
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Words at Ferro Carril Oeste training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ulises Yegros 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.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Mateo Monserrat and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Goalkeepers do not get to make mistakes; they get to make goals. He made one, he knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Loan watch13 Sep 2027
“I watch every Ferro Carril Oeste game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Beitar Jerusalem runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The dugout13 Sep 2027
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
The dugout13 Sep 2027
Lucas Escalante is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
The dugout13 Sep 2027
The manager makes an example of Nahuel Scarpino
“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
Steady
The dugout16 Aug 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Ferro Carril Oeste may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market16 Aug 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Enzo Hoyos 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.
Match14 Aug 2027
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Loan watch16 Aug 2027
Leonel Szalich’s loan is measured in nothing happening
14 clean sheets from 26 appearances at Antofagasta. That is the whole of a goalkeeper’s job done properly, and it is being done a long way from the club that owns him.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ulises Yegros was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Loan watch16 Aug 2027
“I watch every Ferro Carril Oeste game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Beitar Jerusalem runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The dugout16 Aug 2027
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Carlos Moreno after 1‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout16 Aug 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Lucas Escalante, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
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 7.92 for the rest of it.
Market22 Feb 2027
“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 Ferro Carril Oeste, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market22 Feb 2027
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Nicolás Retamar wants continental football; whether Ferro Carril Oeste can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
Squad22 Feb 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 Ferro Carril Oeste this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nicolás Montiel, and the manager let it.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Gustavo Canto 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.
Loan watch22 Feb 2027
“I watch every Ferro Carril Oeste game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Antofagasta runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 1‑0, already talking about the next one.