Marked for Máximo Reyes
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings4 Nov 2030
Successful dribbles: 39. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match30 Oct 2030
Leon are out and Santos Laguna go through, 1‑0 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.
Squad4 Nov 2030
363 appearances across 14 seasons in these colours. Careers like that are not built any more, and Santos Laguna know what they have.
Player ratings4 Nov 2030
Defensive actions: 28, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad4 Nov 2030
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Santos Laguna may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market4 Nov 2030
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Squad4 Nov 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 Santos Laguna this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market4 Nov 2030
Didier Díaz has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Santos Laguna they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Player ratings4 Nov 2030
Marked 8.93 — 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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad9 Sep 2030
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.
Market9 Sep 2030
The offer from Puebla for Máximo Reyes 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.
Squad9 Sep 2030
“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.
Squad9 Sep 2030
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Cristian Dájome commits to Santos Laguna for another 2 years.
Squad9 Sep 2030
Jordan Carrillo 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.
Market9 Sep 2030
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Santos Laguna is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Match7 Sep 2030
Three points for Santos Laguna, 4‑3 the final word against Atlas in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings9 Sep 2030
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.11, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings9 Sep 2030
Marked 8.80 — 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad26 Aug 2030
Jordan Carrillo 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 ratings26 Aug 2030
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match24 Aug 2030
Three points for Santos Laguna, 3‑2 the final word against Veracruz in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Market26 Aug 2030
Add another name to the list: Puebla have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Máximo Reyes. The answer from Santos Laguna has not changed — yet.
Squad26 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; Santos Laguna are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad26 Aug 2030
The manager makes an example of Carlos Gruezo
“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 ratings26 Aug 2030
Marked 8.95 — 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 ratings26 Aug 2030
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.74, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings26 Aug 2030
A performance of 8.68 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad29 Jul 2030
There were 8 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.
Market29 Jul 2030
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Camilo Salamanca will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Santos Laguna the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad29 Jul 2030
Jordan Carrillo 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.
Squad29 Jul 2030
“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 ratings29 Jul 2030
Marked 8.83 — 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 ratings29 Jul 2030
A performance of 8.21 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings29 Jul 2030
A performance of 8.08 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Market29 Jul 2030
The name of Didier Díaz has come up in conversations Santos Laguna were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Market29 Jul 2030
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Santos Laguna will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market8 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 Santos Laguna can pretend not to have heard.
Squad8 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 Santos Laguna this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market8 Jul 2030
Dorados come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Santos Laguna did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market8 Jul 2030
The name of Máximo Reyes has come up in conversations Santos Laguna were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad8 Jul 2030
The manager makes an example of Enzo Díaz
“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.
Market8 Jul 2030
The name of Carlos Acevedo keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Santos Laguna say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market17 Jun 2030
The paperwork is done: Rafael Guerrero joins from Tigres in a deal worth $2.7M. Now comes the harder part.
Market17 Jun 2030
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad17 Jun 2030
Jordan Carrillo 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 Jun 2030
The medical room confirms 46 days on the sidelines for Paolo Medina, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad17 Jun 2030
“The easiest signature of my career.” Michael Creek and Santos Laguna agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad17 Jun 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market10 Jun 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.
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 Santos Laguna this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market10 Jun 2030
The name of Máximo Reyes has come up in conversations Santos Laguna were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad10 Jun 2030
“The easiest signature of my career.” Jaziel Martínez and Santos Laguna agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad10 Jun 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nicolás Díaz, and the manager let it.
Market10 Jun 2030
Dorados are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Santos Laguna will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad15 Apr 2030
Nicolás Díaz: 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.” Santos Laguna have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad15 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 Santos Laguna this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 Apr 2030
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Máximo Reyes commits to Santos Laguna for another 4 years.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad8 Apr 2030
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Santos Laguna may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market8 Apr 2030
Only the photograph left for Máximo Reyes
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Máximo Reyes will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Santos Laguna the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad8 Apr 2030
Jordan Carrillo 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 decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Jaír González and Santos Laguna agree another 4 years.
Squad8 Apr 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Alex Payares, and the manager let it.
Market8 Apr 2030
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Haret Ortega’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match9 Mar 2030
3‑0, and Lucas Di Yorio took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Santos Laguna tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Market11 Mar 2030
Eduardo 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 Santos Laguna, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings11 Mar 2030
A defender's afternoon for Oscar Fraulo
Defensive actions: 25. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings11 Mar 2030
Successful dribbles: 24. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market11 Mar 2030
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Santos Laguna is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad11 Mar 2030
Ezequiel Bullaude 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 ratings11 Mar 2030
Eduardo shuts the door
Defensive actions: 22, 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 ratings11 Mar 2030
Marked 9.44 — 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.
Squad11 Mar 2030
The manager makes an example of Haret Ortega
“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
Crisis
Market11 Feb 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 Santos Laguna can pretend not to have heard.
Squad11 Feb 2030
Fran Villalba: 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.” Santos Laguna have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market11 Feb 2030
Máximo Reyes has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Santos Laguna they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Match9 Feb 2030
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.
Squad11 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 Santos Laguna this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match9 Feb 2030
Tijuana left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad11 Feb 2030
Oscar Fraulo gets it from the manager
“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 ratings11 Feb 2030
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.04, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad11 Feb 2030
Defences have started doubling up on Ezequiel Bullaude
4 goals and a season average of 7.36 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad28 Jan 2030
There were 10 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.
Market28 Jan 2030
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad28 Jan 2030
15 goals and a season average of 7.80. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Market28 Jan 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 Santos Laguna, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad28 Jan 2030
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Santos Laguna may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad28 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 Santos Laguna this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings28 Jan 2030
A performance of 8.68 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Market28 Jan 2030
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Santos Laguna will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Match26 Jan 2030
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings14 Jan 2030
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 38 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Match9 Jan 2030
Toluca go through and Santos Laguna go home, 2‑3 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Match12 Jan 2030
Tigres will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Santos Laguna were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Market14 Jan 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 Santos Laguna, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings14 Jan 2030
Successful dribbles: 26. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market14 Jan 2030
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad14 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 Santos Laguna this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings14 Jan 2030
Marked 9.08 — 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.
Squad14 Jan 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad7 Jan 2030
Haret Ortega is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.56 with 19 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad7 Jan 2030
There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. Santos Laguna will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
Squad7 Jan 2030
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Oscar Fraulo and Santos Laguna agree another 4 years.
Squad7 Jan 2030
Ezequiel Bullaude 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.
Market7 Jan 2030
Monterrey pay $920.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
Player ratings7 Jan 2030
Marked 9.70 — 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 ratings7 Jan 2030
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.13, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match5 Jan 2030
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Ezequiel Bullaude. 2‑1 against Atlas, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Market7 Jan 2030
Add another name to the list: Puebla have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Máximo Reyes. The answer from Santos Laguna has not changed — yet.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match8 Dec 2029
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 12 matches without defeat is a foundation Santos Laguna did not have in the autumn.
Market10 Dec 2029
Álvaro Angulo 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 Santos Laguna can pretend not to have heard.
Squad10 Dec 2029
17 goals and a season average of 7.48. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Player ratings10 Dec 2029
Defensive actions: 27, 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 ratings10 Dec 2029
Defensive actions: 25. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Market10 Dec 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Santos Laguna is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad10 Dec 2029
Ezequiel Bullaude 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 ratings10 Dec 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.82, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match8 Dec 2029
A 2‑0 win over Dorados, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match10 Nov 2029
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Santos Laguna have 7 straight wins of it.
Squad12 Nov 2029
Defences have started doubling up on Jordan Carrillo
12 goals and a season average of 7.67 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Squad12 Nov 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Santos Laguna may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market12 Nov 2029
Máximo Reyes has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Santos Laguna they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad12 Nov 2029
Jordan Carrillo 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 ratings12 Nov 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.28, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings12 Nov 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.08, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match10 Nov 2029
Three points for Santos Laguna, 2‑1 the final word against Chiapas in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad12 Nov 2029
The manager makes an example of Carlos Acevedo
“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
Match13 Oct 2029
6‑3, and Haret Ortega took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Santos Laguna tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Squad15 Oct 2029
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.
Squad15 Oct 2029
3 goals in one game. The first was taken well, the second was taken greedily, and by the third the crowd were simply waiting for him to get the ball.
Market15 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.
Market15 Oct 2029
Only the photograph left for Máximo Reyes
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Máximo Reyes will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Santos Laguna the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad15 Oct 2029
Ezequiel Bullaude 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 Oct 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 10.00, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad15 Oct 2029
Haret Ortega is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.30 with 11 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Player ratings15 Oct 2029
A performance of 8.90 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad17 Sep 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Santos Laguna may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market17 Sep 2029
Eduardo 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 Santos Laguna, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market17 Sep 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Santos Laguna is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Match15 Sep 2029
4 matches without a win for Santos Laguna
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Santos Laguna are no longer polite ones.
Squad17 Sep 2029
Ezequiel Bullaude 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.
Match15 Sep 2029
Tigres left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad17 Sep 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Carlos Acevedo, and the manager let it.
Player ratings17 Sep 2029
A performance of 8.50 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad17 Sep 2029
Defences have started doubling up on Jordan Carrillo
5 goals and a season average of 7.28 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad3 Sep 2029
There were 11 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.
Squad3 Sep 2029
Ezequiel Bullaude 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.
Match1 Sep 2029
Club America left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad3 Sep 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Nicolás Díaz commits to Santos Laguna for another 3 years.
Squad3 Sep 2029
The manager makes an example of Fran Villalba
“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 ratings3 Sep 2029
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market3 Sep 2029
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Santos Laguna will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Market3 Sep 2029
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ezequiel Bullaude signs something — a contract at Santos Laguna or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Player ratings3 Sep 2029
Marked 5.45, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad27 Aug 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 Santos Laguna this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings27 Aug 2029
Marked 9.86 — 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.
Match25 Aug 2029
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 6 matches without defeat is a foundation Santos Laguna did not have in the autumn.
Squad27 Aug 2029
The manager makes an example of Cristian Dájome
“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 ratings27 Aug 2029
A performance of 8.77 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Market27 Aug 2029
The phone has started ringing about Máximo Reyes again, and this time the name on the line is Dorados. Santos Laguna are listening politely and promising nothing.
Match25 Aug 2029
A 3‑3 draw with Veracruz leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Player ratings27 Aug 2029
Shots: 11, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
Player ratings27 Aug 2029
Shots: 7, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad20 Aug 2029
Pedro Aquino: 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.” Santos Laguna have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad20 Aug 2029
Jordan Carrillo 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.
Match18 Aug 2029
Queretaro made Santos Laguna work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings20 Aug 2029
Marked 8.72 — 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 ratings20 Aug 2029
A performance of 8.44 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings20 Aug 2029
Marked 8.45 — 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.
Squad20 Aug 2029
Cristian Dájome 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.
Player ratings20 Aug 2029
Shots: 11, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings6 Aug 2029
Successful dribbles: 31. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad6 Aug 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Santos Laguna may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad6 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.
Market6 Aug 2029
Dorados come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Santos Laguna did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market6 Aug 2029
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Squad6 Aug 2029
Ezequiel Bullaude 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 ratings6 Aug 2029
A performance of 8.89 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings6 Aug 2029
A performance of 8.34 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad6 Aug 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Pedro Aquino commits to Santos Laguna for another 2 years.