Marked for Martín Bertola
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad8 Apr 2030
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 9 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Match6 Apr 2030
Nowhere to hide for Albion
0‑3 against Defensor Sporting, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Squad8 Apr 2030
17 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Match6 Apr 2030
The wait goes on for Albion
4 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.
Squad8 Apr 2030
A falling-out at Albion
Bruno Barja and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Boardroom8 Apr 2030
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
The dugout8 Apr 2030
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑3, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
Squad8 Apr 2030
Four or five weekends of consistency, measured against everybody else in the division. A quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
The dugout8 Apr 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Juan Morales, and the manager let it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad1 Apr 2030
Bruno Barja 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 Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Apr 2030
Words at Albion training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kevin Nunez 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 dugout1 Apr 2030
The manager makes an example of Jerónimo Buosi
“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 dugout1 Apr 2030
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
Match30 Mar 2030
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
The dugout1 Apr 2030
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
The dugout1 Apr 2030
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Albion, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market1 Apr 2030
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Albion has been clear about where Gonzalo Santacruz stands, which is more than many ever get.
Squad1 Apr 2030
He used to be one of the options. He is now one of the men the options are picked around, and the change happened quietly enough that only the dressing room noticed on the day.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad25 Mar 2030
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.
Market25 Mar 2030
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Albion they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad25 Mar 2030
Words exchanged at Albion
Juan Orellana 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 dugout25 Mar 2030
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The terraces25 Mar 2030
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Player ratings25 Mar 2030
Marked 7.75 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Albion had the best player on the pitch.
Match23 Mar 2030
A 1‑1 draw with Progreso leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The dugout25 Mar 2030
“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 dugout25 Mar 2030
Half-satisfied: Jorge Coates on the draw
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad25 Feb 2030
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Albion will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market25 Feb 2030
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Albion is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The dugout25 Feb 2030
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Squad25 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 Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The terraces25 Feb 2030
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. José Luis Torres has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Squad25 Feb 2030
Albion are still strangers to each other
8 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
The dugout25 Feb 2030
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Player ratings25 Feb 2030
Successful dribbles: 12. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match23 Feb 2030
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Central Espanol will be the happier side with the point.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad28 Jan 2030
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Albion will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market28 Jan 2030
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Albion is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The dugout28 Jan 2030
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Squad28 Jan 2030
A falling-out at Albion
Hernán Toledo and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad28 Jan 2030
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Albion are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
Squad28 Jan 2030
8 new faces, and Albion are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
In brief
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The dugout
A promise honoured for Martín Bertola
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Market
Albion shop where it costs nothing
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Boardroom
The Albion production line keeps running
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The dugout
The manager plants his flag on Tomás Galván
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad21 Jan 2030
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Albion will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The dugout21 Jan 2030
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad21 Jan 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 Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets21 Jan 2030
The window shuts on the Michael López deal
Albion ran out of time with Plaza Colonia. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.
Squad21 Jan 2030
26 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Market21 Jan 2030
Signings arrive with a picture of the club in their head, and this one’s picture was bigger than the building. He will play well and he will be gone, in that order, and everybody knows it.
Squad21 Jan 2030
The formation has left Juan Pinto behind
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Albion will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
The dugout21 Jan 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Lucas Martinez, and the manager let it.
The dugout21 Jan 2030
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 Martín Bertola is on it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad24 Dec 2029
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 88 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market24 Dec 2029
Tomás Galván 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 Albion can pretend not to have heard.
Squad24 Dec 2029
Mauricio Nievas gets the move he always wanted
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Mauricio Nievas has just signed for Albion, and for once the answer mattered.
Transfer targets24 Dec 2029
$59.0K settles it between the clubs for Agustín Navarro
Cerrito have accepted the money. What Albion do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
The dugout24 Dec 2029
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Squad24 Dec 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Mauricio Nievas and Albion agree another 2 years.
Transfer targets24 Dec 2029
The offer went to Atenas this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Transfer targets24 Dec 2029
Albion offered $44.0K; Colon said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Squad24 Dec 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 Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad10 Dec 2029
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Albion will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Transfer targets10 Dec 2029
The deal with Plaza Colonia is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Squad10 Dec 2029
Words exchanged at Albion
Hernán Toledo 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.
Transfer targets10 Dec 2029
The offer went to Atenas this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Transfer targets10 Dec 2029
The offer went to Colon this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Squad10 Dec 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Agustín Aguilar and Albion agree another 4 years.
Boardroom10 Dec 2029
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
Market10 Dec 2029
He signed expecting a bigger stage than the one he found. It has not taken long, and it has not taken the dressing room long to notice either.
Squad10 Dec 2029
Lucas Martinez 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom19 Nov 2029
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Albion
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad19 Nov 2029
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Albion will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market19 Nov 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.
Market19 Nov 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Albion is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad19 Nov 2029
Tempers go at Albion
Hernán Toledo 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.
Squad19 Nov 2029
Rodrigo Torres 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 dugout19 Nov 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Thiago Correa, and the manager let it.
The dugout19 Nov 2029
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Maximiliano De Arrascaeta trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout19 Nov 2029
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 Martín Bertola is on it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom22 Oct 2029
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Albion
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Market22 Oct 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.
Market22 Oct 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Albion is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad22 Oct 2029
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Albion will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad22 Oct 2029
Tempers go at Albion
Hernán Toledo 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.
Squad22 Oct 2029
Francisco Ginella 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad24 Sep 2029
Federico Puente damages knee ligaments — 41 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 41 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Boardroom24 Sep 2029
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Albion
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Market24 Sep 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 Albion, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market24 Sep 2029
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Francisco Ginella will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Albion the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Boardroom24 Sep 2029
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Francisco Ginella has agreed terms with Liverpool Montevideo for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Squad24 Sep 2029
Words exchanged at Albion
Juan Cruz Zurbriggen 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.
Squad24 Sep 2029
A row about effort at Albion
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Rodrigo Torres was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout24 Sep 2029
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 Martín Bertola is on it.
Squad24 Sep 2029
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Albion will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad17 Sep 2029
Federico Puente damages knee ligaments — 48 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 48 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Market17 Sep 2029
Tomás Galván 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 Albion can pretend not to have heard.
Squad17 Sep 2029
Tempers go at Albion
Juan Cruz Zurbriggen 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.
Squad17 Sep 2029
A row about effort at Albion
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Rodrigo Torres was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad17 Sep 2029
Too much change too quickly at Albion
10 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
The dugout17 Sep 2029
Hernán Toledo has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Albion 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad27 Aug 2029
69 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Albion lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Boardroom27 Aug 2029
The scrutiny sharpens at Albion
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Albion is running low.
Match25 Aug 2029
Some goals win a match and some take one off somebody else. Bruno Barja scored in the 87th minute, Wanderers had already begun thinking about the journey home, and Albion took the lot.
Squad27 Aug 2029
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market27 Aug 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 Albion, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad27 Aug 2029
Tempers go at Albion
Hernán Toledo 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.
Match25 Aug 2029
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Bruno Barja. 2‑1 against Wanderers, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings27 Aug 2029
A performance of 8.24 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad27 Aug 2029
Luciano Montaos 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.
In brief
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The dugout
The manager’s verdict
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Looking ahead
A test against the best for Albion
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The dugout
Martín Bertola gets picked when it counts
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match23 May 2029
Albion bow out of the cup
Nacional go through and Albion go home, 0‑0 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Player ratings28 May 2029
Successful dribbles: 33. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad28 May 2029
7 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Market28 May 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 Albion, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad28 May 2029
A falling-out at Albion
Hernán Toledo and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad28 May 2029
A row about effort at Albion
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sebastián Jaume was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match26 May 2029
Albion cannot find the net
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Match26 May 2029
0‑1 to Liverpool Montevideo, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout28 May 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market16 Apr 2029
Andrés Romero 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 Albion can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout16 Apr 2029
Mario Zipitría: 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.” Albion have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match14 Apr 2029
The wait goes on for Albion
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
Tempers go at Albion
Hernán Toledo 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.
Squad16 Apr 2029
Sebastián Jaume 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.
Match14 Apr 2029
Late, late show earns Albion a point
Minute 92, against Cerro Largo, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
Match14 Apr 2029
It needed Tomás Galván to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Cerro Largo, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
The dugout16 Apr 2029
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
The dugout16 Apr 2029
Sebastián Jaume 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
Squad26 Mar 2029
Fernando Castro damages knee ligaments — 17 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 17 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Market26 Mar 2029
Santiago Costa has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Albion they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Market26 Mar 2029
Juan Díaz 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 Albion can pretend not to have heard.
Squad26 Mar 2029
Tempers go at Albion
Juan Cruz Zurbriggen 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
A row about effort at Albion
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and José Luis Torres was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout26 Mar 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to José Luis Torres, and the manager let it.
Match24 Mar 2029
A point taken on 86 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
The dugout26 Mar 2029
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
Match24 Mar 2029
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom19 Mar 2029
The interim tag comes off Jorge Coates
Albion interviewed the field and appointed the corridor: Jorge Coates keeps the job he had been doing in all but title. Sometimes the safest pair of hands is the one already holding the wheel.
Squad19 Mar 2029
A knee injury of the worst kind for Fernando Castro
25 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Albion lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match14 Mar 2029
Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Martín Bertola obliged against Juventud. 1‑0 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is Albion.
Squad19 Mar 2029
There were 9 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.
Match14 Mar 2029
Martín Bertola wins it after the whistle should have gone
122 minutes played. Martín Bertola found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and Juventud went from a point to nothing inside one movement.
Player ratings19 Mar 2029
Successful dribbles: 30. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Market19 Mar 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 Albion, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad19 Mar 2029
Tempers go at Albion
Hernán Toledo 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.
The terraces19 Mar 2029
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market30 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 Albion, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom30 Oct 2028
Pressure builds in the Albion boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market30 Oct 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Albion is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad30 Oct 2028
Tempers go at Albion
Hernán Toledo 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.
Squad30 Oct 2028
A row about effort at Albion
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and José Luis Torres was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout30 Oct 2028
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From our football correspondent
Uneasy
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 Albion, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom2 Oct 2028
Pressure builds in the Albion boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market2 Oct 2028
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Sebastián Píriz will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Albion the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad2 Oct 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Hernán Toledo and Albion agree another 2 years.
Squad2 Oct 2028
Tempers go at Albion
Hernán Toledo 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.
The dugout2 Oct 2028
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad2 Oct 2028
A row about effort at Albion
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Luciano Montaos was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market2 Oct 2028
Sebastián Jaume returns from a loan that taught him nothing
1 appearances and 0 clean sheets. A goalkeeper learns his job by playing it, and a season that gave him neither the games nor the shut-outs is a year taken off the front of a career.
The dugout2 Oct 2028
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market18 Sep 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 Albion can pretend not to have heard.
Squad18 Sep 2028
A falling-out at Albion
Hernán Toledo and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad18 Sep 2028
A muscle injury sidelines Yamil Silva for 18 days
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Albion will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
The dugout18 Sep 2028
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The dugout18 Sep 2028
Yamil Silva 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 Yamil Silva trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market18 Sep 2028
Albion 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market11 Sep 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Albion is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Market11 Sep 2028
Andrés Romero 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 Albion can pretend not to have heard.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Tempers go at Albion
Hernán Toledo 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.
The dugout11 Sep 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.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Luciano Montaos 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 dugout11 Sep 2028
Hernán Toledo 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 Hernán Toledo is on it.
The dugout11 Sep 2028
Santiago Costa 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.
Market11 Sep 2028
“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.
Market11 Sep 2028
Albion have let the market know Joaquín Varela can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market21 Aug 2028
“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.
Player ratings21 Aug 2028
Successful dribbles: 23. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad21 Aug 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 Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match19 Aug 2028
0‑2 to Wanderers, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout21 Aug 2028
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The dugout21 Aug 2028
The manager makes an example of Andrés Romero
“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 Aug 2028
14 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
The dugout21 Aug 2028
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
Squad21 Aug 2028
Words at Albion training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Luciano Montaos 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market12 Jun 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 Albion can pretend not to have heard.
Market12 Jun 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Albion is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad12 Jun 2028
Words exchanged at Albion
Hernán Toledo 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.
Squad12 Jun 2028
Tomás Galván arrives at the club he grew up with
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Tomás Galván has, at Albion, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Match10 Jun 2028
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Francisco Ginella. 1‑0 against Oriental, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings12 Jun 2028
Francisco Ginella was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.06. 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 ratings12 Jun 2028
16 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.
The dugout12 Jun 2028
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Agustin Valverde on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
The dugout12 Jun 2028
Hernán Toledo 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 Hernán Toledo is on it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad29 May 2028
A knee injury of the worst kind for Federico Puente
24 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Albion lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match27 May 2028
3‑0, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.
Market29 May 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 Albion can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings29 May 2028
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Juan Cruz Zurbriggen provided it, and the 8.73 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Squad29 May 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 Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The terraces29 May 2028
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
The dugout29 May 2028
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Squad29 May 2028
Words at Albion training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Román Gutiérrez 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.
Player ratings29 May 2028
Marked 8.07 — 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.