Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Deportivo Tachira will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Román Herrera 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.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
9 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.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.94 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Francisco Gonzalez will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Deportivo Tachira the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Deportivo Tachira this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Deportivo Tachira know it.
19 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.
In brief
SquadEnmanuel Verde falls out with a teammate over standards
8 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Deportivo Tachira has to find a result from somewhere.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Jose Ferraresi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Deportivo Tachira the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Román Herrera 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.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 4 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Enmanuel Verde 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Deportivo Tachira, and both men came out saying it was fine.
In brief
MarketThe clock does Jan Majsterek’s negotiating for him
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Deportivo Tachira this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Thiago Schiavulli and Deportivo Tachira agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
43 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Deportivo Tachira lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Deportivo Tachira this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Adriano 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Enmanuel Verde and Deportivo Tachira agree another 1 years.
32 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Deportivo Tachira has to find a result from somewhere.
50 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Deportivo Tachira lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
2 in front and in complete control, and it finished with Llaneros the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that Deportivo Tachira will enjoy reviewing.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.11 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Román Herrera 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.
In brief
SquadAdriano falls out with a teammate over standards
99 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Deportivo Tachira lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Deportivo Tachira this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
15 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Deportivo Lara? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 11 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
113 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Deportivo Tachira lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Deportivo Tachira they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Deportivo Tachira this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Adriano 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.
141 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Deportivo Tachira lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Deportivo Tachira is running low.
“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 Deportivo Tachira, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Deportivo Tachira this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The words a physio says slowly. 169 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.
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Deportivo Tachira is running low.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Deportivo Tachira this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. José Buralli will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Deportivo Tachira the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Delvin Alfonzo 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 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.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Deportivo Tachira can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Deportivo Tachira this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Thiago Schiavulli and Deportivo Tachira agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Enmanuel Verde 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.
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Deportivo Tachira this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. José Buralli will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Deportivo Tachira the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Delvin Alfonzo 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.
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
“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 Deportivo Tachira, and it is not being withdrawn.
19 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.
“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 Deportivo Tachira, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Deportivo Tachira is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Delvin Alfonzo 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 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.
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Deportivo Tachira will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Deportivo Tachira has to find a result from somewhere.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Deportivo Tachira this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Enmanuel Verde 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.
In brief
Player ratingsThe afternoon belonged to Román Herrera
The words a physio says slowly. 35 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 98 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Deportivo Tachira they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Deportivo Tachira has to find a result from somewhere.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Delvin Alfonzo and Deportivo Tachira agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. José Buralli will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Deportivo Tachira the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 15 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Deportivo Tachira this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Enmanuel Verde 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.
Ninety minutes of very little, and then everything at once. The winner arrived in the 86th, and Zulia spent what remained of the match appealing to the referee rather than chasing the ball.
Ezequiel Delgado Cañete 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 morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Fernando Arango has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Junior Rincon has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Delvin Alfonzo 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Deportivo Tachira this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Enmanuel Verde 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.
Delvin Alfonzo 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.