Omar Cassiani

Central Defender - Deportivo Cali
29 Dec 2032
Wednesday
Process

Marked for Omar Cassiani

254 Edition

The Barranquilla Gazette

9 Jun 2031
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Fabián Correa breaks a bone — 113 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 113 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Squad

The knee: Omar Cassiani out for 16 days

16 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Barranquilla lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

Match

Barranquilla taken apart

0‑5 to Deportivo Cali, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.

Match

Every point is an argument now for Barranquilla

Position 19 and 9 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.

Squad

8 saves: Alex Mosquera was the team

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 8 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.

Market

Barranquilla turn down Fortaleza CEIF for Alex Mosquera

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Match

The wait goes on for Barranquilla

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.

Market

Jhordy Camacho 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 Barranquilla can pretend not to have heard.

Match

The goals have deserted Barranquilla

6 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Barranquilla can tell you which week it ends in.

In brief

Back issues
253 Edition

The Barranquilla Gazette

2 Jun 2031
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

A fracture rules Fabián Correa out for 120 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Barranquilla will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Squad

The knee: Omar Cassiani out for 23 days

23 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Barranquilla lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

Match

A hiding for Barranquilla

Beaten 0‑3 by Independiente Medellin, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.

Market

Duván Riascos 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 Barranquilla, and it is not being withdrawn.

Match

The wait goes on for Barranquilla

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.

Match

The goals have deserted Barranquilla

5 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Barranquilla can tell you which week it ends in.

Player ratings

Jhon Navia beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 23. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Match

Barranquilla leaking at the back

5 matches, two or more conceded in every one of them. Sides that create as much as this can live with it for a while. Nobody lives with it forever.

Squad

A falling-out at Barranquilla

Alex Mosquera and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

In brief

252 Edition

The Barranquilla Gazette

26 May 2031
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Alex Mosquera stands alone

14 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.

Squad

The knee: Omar Cassiani out for 30 days

30 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Barranquilla lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

Match

Chastening afternoon for Barranquilla

A 0‑8 beating by Atletico Nacional was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.

Market

Cristian Rivas asks to leave Barranquilla

“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.

Market

William Mosquera is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Barranquilla is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Match

No end in sight to Barranquilla's wait for a win

4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Barranquilla has to find a result from somewhere.

Match

Barranquilla cannot find the net

4 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.

Match

8 goals as Barranquilla and Atletico Nacional go for it

Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 8 goals between Barranquilla and Atletico Nacional, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.

Squad

A row about effort at Barranquilla

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jhon Navia was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

In brief

251 Edition

The Barranquilla Gazette

19 May 2031
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Omar Cassiani

37 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Barranquilla lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Player ratings

Jhon Navia runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 25. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Market

Victor Sanchez asks to leave Barranquilla

“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.

Squad

Words at Barranquilla training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jhon Navia 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.

Match

3 matches without a goal for Barranquilla

The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.

Squad

Tempers go at Barranquilla

Alex Mosquera 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.

Match

Barranquilla come up short against Envigado

Envigado left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Jhoynner Lozano

“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.

Squad

Home is on Brorie Idiebiru's mind

“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; Barranquilla are dealing with a man who wants a different country.

In brief

250 Edition

The Barranquilla Gazette

12 May 2031
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Alex Mosquera keeps Barranquilla in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 13 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Squad

Omar Cassiani damages knee ligaments — 44 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 44 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.

Match

Barranquilla out of the cup

Junior ended it 0‑3. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.

Match

Barranquilla are in real trouble now

Position 19, 9 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Jhon Navia

Successful dribbles: 30. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

The terraces

A cup embarrassment at Junior follows Barranquilla home

0-3. Going out of a cup is one afternoon; going out like that is a week of phone-ins, and the manager will hear every one of them.

Market

Brorie Idiebiru 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 Barranquilla, and it is not being withdrawn.

Market

Only the photograph left for Johan Brausin

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Johan Brausin will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Barranquilla the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Words exchanged at Barranquilla

Fabián Correa 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.

In brief

249 Edition

The Barranquilla Gazette

5 May 2031
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Omar Cassiani

51 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Barranquilla lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Match

The drought breaks for Barranquilla

10 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Universitario Popayan were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.

Market

Phillippe Oviedo 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 Barranquilla can pretend not to have heard.

Player ratings

Up for the corner, and Nicola Profeta delivers — 7.92

Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Nicola Profeta scored, was marked 7.92, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.

Player ratings

Jhon Navia was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 23. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

Squad

Jhon Navia 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.

Squad

A falling-out at Barranquilla

Cristian Rivas and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Match

Barranquilla find a way past Universitario Popayan

Universitario Popayan made Barranquilla work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.

The dugout

Alberto Higgins 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.

In brief

248 Edition

The Barranquilla Gazette

28 Apr 2031
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Omar Cassiani

58 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Barranquilla lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Match

10 matches without a win for Barranquilla

The run now stands at 10, and the questions being asked around Barranquilla are no longer polite ones.

Market

William Mosquera 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 Barranquilla can pretend not to have heard.

Market

William Mosquera has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Barranquilla they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Player ratings

Jhon Navia runs at them all day

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.

Squad

Jhon Navia 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.

Match

Patriotas take the points off Barranquilla

Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Squad

Alex Mosquera 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 Barranquilla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The dugout

Interim Coach: “No excuses”

“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑1, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.

In brief

247 Edition

The Barranquilla Gazette

21 Apr 2031
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

The knee: Omar Cassiani out for 65 days

65 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Barranquilla lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

Match

9 matches without a win for Barranquilla

The run now stands at 9, and the questions being asked around Barranquilla are no longer polite ones.

Market

Victor Sanchez asks to leave Barranquilla

“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.

Squad

Tempers go at Barranquilla

William Mosquera 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 ratings

Diego Montien was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 19. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Jhoynner Lozano

“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 ratings

Jhon Navia was the difference for Barranquilla

Marked 7.31. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.

Market

Still no ink between Barranquilla and Nicola Profeta

“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Barranquilla, another week without a signature from Nicola Profeta.

The dugout

The view from the dugout

“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Interim Coach chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.

In brief

246 Edition

The Barranquilla Gazette

14 Apr 2031
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

The knee: Omar Cassiani out for 72 days

72 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Barranquilla lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

Match

8 matches without a win for Barranquilla

The run now stands at 8, and the questions being asked around Barranquilla are no longer polite ones.

Match

Every point is an argument now for Barranquilla

Position 18 and 5 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Alex Mosquera

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 ratings

Diego Montien runs at them all day

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.

Market

Johan Brausin has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Barranquilla they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Market

Howell Mena has his eye on Europe

It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Barranquilla can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.

Squad

A row about effort at Barranquilla

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jhon Navia was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Match

Barranquilla refuse to lose to America de Cali

A point taken on 95 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.

In brief

245 Edition

The Barranquilla Gazette

7 Apr 2031
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

The knee: Omar Cassiani out for 79 days

79 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Barranquilla lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

Match

No end in sight to Barranquilla's wait for a win

7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Barranquilla has to find a result from somewhere.

Squad

6 saves: Alex Mosquera was the team

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.

Player ratings

Jhon Navia was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 26. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

Market

Omar Cassiani 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 Barranquilla, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Words at Barranquilla training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jhon Navia 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.

Match

No clean sheets in sight for Barranquilla

4 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.

Match

A bad afternoon for Barranquilla against Once Caldas

1‑2 to Once Caldas, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad

A falling-out at Barranquilla

Fabián Correa and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

In brief

244 Edition

The Barranquilla Gazette

31 Mar 2031
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Omar Cassiani damages knee ligaments — 86 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 86 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.

Squad

Alex Mosquera stands alone

9 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.

Market

William Mosquera 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 Barranquilla can pretend not to have heard.

Market

William Mosquera has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Barranquilla they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Match

The wait goes on for Barranquilla

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.

Player ratings

Up for the corner, and Nicola Profeta delivers — 7.87

Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Nicola Profeta scored, was marked 7.87, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.

Squad

William Mosquera 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 Barranquilla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

50 goals in the shirt for Cristian Rivas

50 for the club now, each one filed in somebody’s memory with a date and a scoreline. Numbers like this are what supporters argue about in twenty years.

Match

Late, late show earns Barranquilla a point

Minute 90, against Santa Fe, 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.

In brief

243 Edition

The Barranquilla Gazette

24 Mar 2031
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Alex Mosquera keeps Barranquilla in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 11 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Squad

Omar Cassiani damages knee ligaments — 93 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 93 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.

Match

No end in sight to Barranquilla's wait for a win

5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Barranquilla has to find a result from somewhere.

Market

Victor Sanchez 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 Barranquilla can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

A row about effort at Barranquilla

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jhon Navia was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Match

The goals have deserted Barranquilla

3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Barranquilla can tell you which week it ends in.

Match

A bad afternoon for Barranquilla against Millonarios

0‑2 to Millonarios, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Player ratings

Jhon Navia runs at them all day

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.

Squad

Words exchanged at Barranquilla

Darwin Torres 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.

In brief

242 Edition

The Barranquilla Gazette

17 Mar 2031
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

15 saves: Alex Mosquera was the team

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 15 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Omar Cassiani

100 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Barranquilla lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Market

Johan Brausin 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 Barranquilla can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Johan Brausin has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Barranquilla they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Match

4 matches without a win for Barranquilla

The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Barranquilla are no longer polite ones.

Squad

Words at Barranquilla training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jhon Navia 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.

Squad

Words exchanged at Barranquilla

William Mosquera 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.

Match

A bad afternoon for Barranquilla against Deportes Tolima

0‑2 to Deportes Tolima, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Jhoynner Lozano

“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.

In brief

  • The dugout The manager’s verdict
  • The dugout Jhon Navia knocks on the manager's door
  • Looking ahead A reunion for Howell Mena
241 Edition

The Barranquilla Gazette

10 Mar 2031
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Omar Cassiani

107 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Barranquilla lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Player ratings

Jhon Navia was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 35. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

Market

Alex Mosquera 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 Barranquilla can pretend not to have heard.

The dugout

Jhordy Camacho keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Barranquilla may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

A falling-out at Barranquilla

Fabián Correa and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

The dugout

Interim Coach on the point

“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Interim Coach after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.

The dugout

Jhoynner Lozano 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 Barranquilla, and both men came out saying it was fine.

The dugout

No hiding place for Martín Naser

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Martín Naser, and the manager let it.

Match

Barranquilla and Deportivo Pasto cancel each other out

Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Deportivo Pasto came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.

In brief

240 Edition

The Barranquilla Gazette

3 Mar 2031
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Jhon Navia

Successful dribbles: 43. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Omar Cassiani

114 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Barranquilla lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Market

William Mosquera 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 Barranquilla can pretend not to have heard.

Market

William Mosquera has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Barranquilla they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Juan Sebastián Ostos signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Juan Sebastián Ostos and Barranquilla agree another 3 years.

Squad

Words at Barranquilla training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jhon Navia 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.

Squad

William Mosquera 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 Barranquilla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Late, late show earns Barranquilla a point

Minute 87, against Leones, 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.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Duván Riascos

“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.

In brief

239 Edition

The Barranquilla Gazette

24 Feb 2031
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

The knee: Omar Cassiani out for 121 days

121 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Barranquilla lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

Match

Leyner Liñan sends Barranquilla through

Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Leyner Liñan obliged against La Equidad. 3‑2 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is Barranquilla.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Johan Brausin

Successful dribbles: 34. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Match

Leyner Liñan wins it after the whistle should have gone

108 minutes played. Leyner Liñan found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and La Equidad went from a point to nothing inside one movement.

Player ratings

Both of them Cristian Rivas's — 8.49

2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.49, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.

Market

Omar Cassiani 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 Barranquilla, and it is not being withdrawn.

Match

Cortulua take the points off Barranquilla

Beaten 3‑5, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Match

Cristian Rivas among the goals in a wild afternoon

8 goals in one match, Cristian Rivas on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Barranquilla and Cortulua.

Boardroom

The numbers do not look good at Barranquilla

Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.

In brief

238 Edition

The Barranquilla Gazette

17 Feb 2031
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Omar Cassiani

128 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Barranquilla lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Player ratings

Diego Montien beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 27. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Market

Victor Sanchez 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 Barranquilla can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Johan Brausin has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Barranquilla they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Match

No end in sight to Barranquilla's wait for a win

4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Barranquilla has to find a result from somewhere.

Match

Barranquilla cannot find the net

4 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.

Squad

Words exchanged at Barranquilla

Fabián Correa 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.

Match

Barranquilla come up short against La Equidad

La Equidad left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

The dugout

The manager’s verdict

“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑2 Interim Coach left the room before anybody could ask which.

In brief