Marked for Omar Cassiani
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad9 Jun 2031
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.
Squad9 Jun 2031
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.
Match7 Jun 2031
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.
Match9 Jun 2031
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.
Squad9 Jun 2031
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.
Market9 Jun 2031
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Match7 Jun 2031
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.
Market9 Jun 2031
“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.
Match7 Jun 2031
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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad2 Jun 2031
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.
Squad2 Jun 2031
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.
Match31 May 2031
Beaten 0‑3 by Independiente Medellin, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Market2 Jun 2031
“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.
Match31 May 2031
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.
Match31 May 2031
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 ratings2 Jun 2031
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.
Match31 May 2031
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.
Squad2 Jun 2031
Alex Mosquera and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad26 May 2031
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.
Squad26 May 2031
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.
Match24 May 2031
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.
Market26 May 2031
“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.
Market26 May 2031
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.
Match24 May 2031
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.
Match24 May 2031
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.
Match24 May 2031
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.
Squad26 May 2031
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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad19 May 2031
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 ratings19 May 2031
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.
Market19 May 2031
“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.
Squad19 May 2031
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.
Match17 May 2031
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.
Squad19 May 2031
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.
Match17 May 2031
Envigado left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout19 May 2031
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.
Squad19 May 2031
“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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad12 May 2031
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.
Squad12 May 2031
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.
Match7 May 2031
Junior ended it 0‑3. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.
Match12 May 2031
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 ratings12 May 2031
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 terraces12 May 2031
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.
Market12 May 2031
“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.
Market12 May 2031
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.
Squad12 May 2031
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad5 May 2031
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.
Match3 May 2031
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.
Market5 May 2031
“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 ratings5 May 2031
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 ratings5 May 2031
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.
Squad5 May 2031
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.
Squad5 May 2031
Cristian Rivas and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout5 May 2031
“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
Crisis
Squad28 Apr 2031
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.
Match26 Apr 2031
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.
Market28 Apr 2031
“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.
Market28 Apr 2031
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 ratings28 Apr 2031
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.
Squad28 Apr 2031
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.
Match26 Apr 2031
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad28 Apr 2031
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 dugout28 Apr 2031
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad21 Apr 2031
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.
Match19 Apr 2031
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.
Market21 Apr 2031
“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.
Squad21 Apr 2031
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 ratings21 Apr 2031
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 dugout21 Apr 2031
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 ratings21 Apr 2031
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.
Market21 Apr 2031
“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 dugout21 Apr 2031
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad14 Apr 2031
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.
Match12 Apr 2031
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.
Match14 Apr 2031
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.
Squad14 Apr 2031
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 ratings14 Apr 2031
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 Apr 2031
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.
Market14 Apr 2031
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.
Squad14 Apr 2031
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.
Match12 Apr 2031
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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad7 Apr 2031
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.
Match5 Apr 2031
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.
Squad7 Apr 2031
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 ratings7 Apr 2031
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.
Market7 Apr 2031
“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.
Squad7 Apr 2031
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.
Match5 Apr 2031
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.
Match5 Apr 2031
1‑2 to Once Caldas, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad7 Apr 2031
Fabián Correa and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad31 Mar 2031
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.
Squad31 Mar 2031
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.
Market31 Mar 2031
“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.
Market31 Mar 2031
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.
Match29 Mar 2031
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 ratings31 Mar 2031
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.
Squad31 Mar 2031
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.
Squad31 Mar 2031
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.
Match29 Mar 2031
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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad24 Mar 2031
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.
Squad24 Mar 2031
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.
Match22 Mar 2031
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.
Market24 Mar 2031
“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.
Squad24 Mar 2031
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.
Match22 Mar 2031
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.
Match22 Mar 2031
0‑2 to Millonarios, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings24 Mar 2031
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.
Squad24 Mar 2031
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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad17 Mar 2031
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.
Squad17 Mar 2031
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.
Market17 Mar 2031
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.
Market17 Mar 2031
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.
Match15 Mar 2031
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.
Squad17 Mar 2031
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.
Squad17 Mar 2031
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.
Match15 Mar 2031
0‑2 to Deportes Tolima, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout17 Mar 2031
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
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The dugout
The manager’s verdict
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The dugout
Jhon Navia knocks on the manager's door
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Looking ahead
A reunion for Howell Mena
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad10 Mar 2031
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 ratings10 Mar 2031
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.
Market10 Mar 2031
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 dugout10 Mar 2031
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Barranquilla may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad10 Mar 2031
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 dugout10 Mar 2031
“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 dugout10 Mar 2031
“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 dugout10 Mar 2031
“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.
Match8 Mar 2031
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Deportivo Pasto came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings3 Mar 2031
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.
Squad3 Mar 2031
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.
Market3 Mar 2031
“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.
Market3 Mar 2031
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.
Squad3 Mar 2031
“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.
Squad3 Mar 2031
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.
Squad3 Mar 2031
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.
Match1 Mar 2031
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 dugout3 Mar 2031
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad24 Feb 2031
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.
Player ratings24 Feb 2031
Successful dribbles: 34. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match19 Feb 2031
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 ratings24 Feb 2031
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.
Market24 Feb 2031
“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.
Match22 Feb 2031
Beaten 3‑5, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Boardroom24 Feb 2031
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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad17 Feb 2031
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 ratings17 Feb 2031
Successful dribbles: 27. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Market17 Feb 2031
“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.
Market17 Feb 2031
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.
Match15 Feb 2031
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.
Match15 Feb 2031
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.
Squad17 Feb 2031
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.
Match15 Feb 2031
La Equidad left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout17 Feb 2031
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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad27 Jan 2031
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.
Match25 Jan 2031
Chastening afternoon for Barranquilla
A 0‑3 beating by Deportivo Cali was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Market27 Jan 2031
“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.
Squad27 Jan 2031
Cristian Rivas 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.
Boardroom27 Jan 2031
6 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Boardroom27 Jan 2031
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.
Match25 Jan 2031
9 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
Squad27 Jan 2031
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.
Market27 Jan 2031
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Fabian Restrepo has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market6 Jan 2031
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.
Squad6 Jan 2031
Howell Mena honoured for the season
The kind of year that ends with a name being read out in a hall. Barranquilla had the benefit of it every week and now have the problem of everybody else knowing.
Transfer targets6 Jan 2031
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Union Magdalena is saying, and nobody at Barranquilla is enjoying the guessing.
Transfer targets6 Jan 2031
Barranquilla asked and Deportivo Pereira said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The dugout6 Jan 2031
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Cristian Rivas, and the manager let it.
Squad6 Jan 2031
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 dugout6 Jan 2031
Diego Montien 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.
Squad6 Jan 2031
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.
The dugout6 Jan 2031
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market30 Dec 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 Barranquilla, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom30 Dec 2030
The accounts are being read more closely than the results. Wages before ambition is the order of business now, and the manager has been told so.
Squad30 Dec 2030
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.
Transfer targets30 Dec 2030
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad30 Dec 2030
Juan Diego Verdeza 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.
Transfer targets30 Dec 2030
A loan enquiry to Santa Fe: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Transfer targets30 Dec 2030
A loan enquiry to Union Magdalena: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The dugout30 Dec 2030
Cristian Rivas 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 dugout30 Dec 2030
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Barranquilla. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market2 Dec 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.
Boardroom2 Dec 2030
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.
Squad2 Dec 2030
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.
Transfer targets2 Dec 2030
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Once Caldas have kept their man, and Barranquilla go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad2 Dec 2030
Juan Diego Verdeza was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad2 Dec 2030
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Barranquilla than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
The dugout2 Dec 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Johan Brausin, and the manager let it.
Boardroom2 Dec 2030
A month in which every rumour is possible and most of them are nonsense. The manager has a list, the board has a number, and neither is telling the other the whole of it.
Market2 Dec 2030
“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 Juan Diego Verdeza.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market18 Nov 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.
The dugout18 Nov 2030
Omar Cassiani: 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.” Barranquilla have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad18 Nov 2030
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.
The dugout18 Nov 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Cristian Rivas, and the manager let it.
Squad18 Nov 2030
Jhon Cortez 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 dugout18 Nov 2030
Jhoynner Lozano 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
Upbeat
Market4 Nov 2030
Omar Cassiani 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.
Market4 Nov 2030
Only the photograph left for Jhon Cortez
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Jhon Cortez will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Barranquilla the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Boardroom4 Nov 2030
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.
Squad4 Nov 2030
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.
The dugout4 Nov 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jhon Cortez, and the manager let it.
Market4 Nov 2030
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Alexander Riascos has his answer from Barranquilla; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
The dugout4 Nov 2030
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and William Mosquera trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market4 Nov 2030
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
Squad4 Nov 2030
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Barranquilla will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market7 Oct 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 Barranquilla, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market7 Oct 2030
Only the photograph left for Jhon Cortez
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Jhon Cortez will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Barranquilla the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The dugout7 Oct 2030
Omar Cassiani: 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.” Barranquilla have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market7 Oct 2030
The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.
Squad7 Oct 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 Barranquilla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom7 Oct 2030
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.
Squad7 Oct 2030
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Johan Brausin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout7 Oct 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 Barranquilla, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout7 Oct 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Johan Brausin, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market30 Sep 2030
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.
Squad30 Sep 2030
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 dugout30 Sep 2030
Cristian Rivas 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.
Squad30 Sep 2030
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Johan Brausin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout30 Sep 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 dugout30 Sep 2030
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Julian Muriel has written the date down.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market9 Sep 2030
Only the photograph left for Jhon Cortez
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Jhon Cortez will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Barranquilla the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad9 Sep 2030
26 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Boardroom9 Sep 2030
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Barranquilla now.
Squad9 Sep 2030
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.
Squad9 Sep 2030
16 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad9 Sep 2030
Darwin Torres and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match19 Aug 2030
50 points and nobody above them. The word is not being said around the ground yet, and it is being thought in every seat.
Market19 Aug 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 Barranquilla, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market19 Aug 2030
Only the photograph left for Bréiner Pino
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Bréiner Pino will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Barranquilla the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad19 Aug 2030
Cristian Rivas 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 Aug 2030
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.
The dugout19 Aug 2030
Jhoynner Lozano asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
The dugout19 Aug 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.
Squad19 Aug 2030
Competition arrives for Howell Mena
A new face in his position and a shirt he thought he owned suddenly up for discussion. Barranquilla have promised nothing, which is what clubs promise at this stage.
Market19 Aug 2030
“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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market29 Jul 2030
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.
Market29 Jul 2030
Only the photograph left for Roque Viloria
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Roque Viloria will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Barranquilla the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad29 Jul 2030
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.
Squad29 Jul 2030
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.
Squad29 Jul 2030
A muscle injury and 15 days out for Julian Muriel
The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. Barranquilla will quote 15 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Market29 Jul 2030
Alfredo Falcao is 20, and Barranquilla have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
The dugout29 Jul 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.
Squad29 Jul 2030
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
The dugout29 Jul 2030
William Mosquera 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
Upbeat
Market1 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 Barranquilla can pretend not to have heard.
Market1 Jul 2030
Joel Canchimbo 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.
Market1 Jul 2030
Add another name to the list: Santa Fe have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Sebastián Guerra. The answer from Barranquilla has not changed — yet.
Squad1 Jul 2030
Joel Canchimbo and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad1 Jul 2030
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.
Transfer targets1 Jul 2030
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Transfer targets1 Jul 2030
A loan enquiry to Aguilas Doradas: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The dugout1 Jul 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 Barranquilla, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market1 Jul 2030
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Jhordy Camacho has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Barranquilla.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match11 May 2030
Aguilas Doradas will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Barranquilla were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Player ratings13 May 2030
Two goals and a mark of 9.11 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Player ratings13 May 2030
Up for the corner, and Sebastián Caballero delivers — 7.96
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Sebastián Caballero scored, was marked 7.96, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Player ratings13 May 2030
Successful dribbles: 24. 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.
Market13 May 2030
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.
Match11 May 2030
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Barranquilla have 3 straight wins of it.
Squad13 May 2030
Joel Canchimbo 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.
Player ratings13 May 2030
Marked 8.10 — 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.
Boardroom13 May 2030
Wages swallow 85% of the Barranquilla income
Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.
In brief
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The dugout
The manager’s verdict
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Squad
A row about effort at Barranquilla
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Market
Omar Cassiani is free to find somewhere else