Marked for Francisco Vivas
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match11 Sep 2027
11 matches without a win for Morelia
The run now stands at 11, and the questions being asked around Morelia are no longer polite ones.
Squad13 Sep 2027
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.
Squad13 Sep 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Morelia may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Luka Romero 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.
Player ratings13 Sep 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings13 Sep 2027
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 ratings13 Sep 2027
Marked 8.19 — 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.
Squad13 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.
Loan watch13 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 Morelia, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings9 Aug 2027
Successful dribbles: 27. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad9 Aug 2027
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.
Match7 Aug 2027
No end in sight to Morelia's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Morelia has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Luka Romero 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 Morelia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad9 Aug 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Héctor Ramírez commits to Morelia for another 4 years.
Match7 Aug 2027
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad9 Aug 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.
Market9 Aug 2027
“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.
Market9 Aug 2027
The clock runs on Ramón Pasquel's contract
24 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market2 Aug 2027
Zahid Muñoz 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 Morelia can pretend not to have heard.
Match31 Jul 2027
4 matches without a win for Morelia
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Morelia are no longer polite ones.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Luka Romero 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.
Squad2 Aug 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Héctor Ramírez and Morelia agree another 4 years.
Match31 Jul 2027
1‑2 to Pumas UNAM, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings2 Aug 2027
Marked 8.62 — 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.
Market2 Aug 2027
The phone has started ringing about Francisco Vivas again, and this time the name on the line is Toronto FC. Morelia are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad2 Aug 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to José Alonso Flores, and the manager let it.
Squad2 Aug 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Alejandro Andrade trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market24 May 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 Morelia can pretend not to have heard.
Squad24 May 2027
Brian Figueroa 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.
Squad24 May 2027
Héctor Ramírez 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 Morelia, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad15 Mar 2027
Rubén Del Campo 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.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.25, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.03, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
Marked 8.82 — 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.
Squad15 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Antonio Torres, and the manager let it.
Squad15 Mar 2027
8 goals and a season average of 7.37. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad15 Mar 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Francisco Vivas and Morelia agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Match13 Mar 2027
A 3‑3 draw with Atlas leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Market15 Mar 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Brian Figueroa’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market1 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.
Market1 Feb 2027
Pachuca come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Morelia did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Match30 Jan 2027
The wait goes on for Morelia
6 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.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Diego Gallegos 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.
Match30 Jan 2027
Morelia come up short against Leon
Leon left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad1 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Arturo Palma, and the manager let it.
Player ratings1 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings1 Feb 2027
The one thing Zahid Muñoz could not do
Shots: 4, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
Player ratings1 Feb 2027
5.26 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
Market4 Jan 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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market4 Jan 2027
Cruz Azul come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Morelia did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 23. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Uziel García 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 Morelia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
Defensive actions: 21. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad4 Jan 2027
“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.
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
A defender's afternoon for Uziel García
Defensive actions: 16. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad4 Jan 2027
5 goals and a season average of 7.24. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market21 Dec 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Morelia can pretend not to have heard.
Squad21 Dec 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Morelia may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Match19 Dec 2026
It finished 2‑1, and it was Edgar Martínez’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Morelia.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Marked 8.48 — 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 ratings21 Dec 2026
Marked 8.35 — 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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Ramón Pasquel
“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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Aírton 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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
“If we are going to be beaten, let it not be because somebody in here could not be bothered.” He stood up and said it in front of everybody, which is a thing a squad remembers about a man for years.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad2 Nov 2026
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.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
A defender's afternoon for Uziel García
Defensive actions: 23. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Uziel García 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.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
A performance of 9.40 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
167% of the income goes out in wages at Morelia
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.
Match31 Oct 2026
Veracruz made Morelia work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.30, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad2 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Francisco Vivas, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market26 Oct 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Morelia can pretend not to have heard.
Squad26 Oct 2026
“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.
Match24 Oct 2026
5 matches without a win for Morelia
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Morelia are no longer polite ones.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Uziel García 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 Morelia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad5 Oct 2026
45 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad5 Oct 2026
31 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Uziel García 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.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
Wages eat 293% of everything Morelia earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Marked 8.73 — 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.