The Leones Gazette
Squad2 Apr 2029
Tempers go at Leones
Jhon Morcillo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The dugout2 Apr 2029
Miguel Ángel Arboleda 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.
Squad2 Apr 2029
Jerónimo Echeverri named in the team of the month
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Jerónimo Echeverri is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
Squad2 Apr 2029
Omar Villadiego is no longer first choice
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Omar Villadiego has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
Squad2 Apr 2029
Words at Leones training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jhonatan Cuero 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.
Looking ahead2 Apr 2029
Jonathan Marulanda goes back to face Deportivo Cali
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Jonathan Marulanda’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Leones needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Market2 Apr 2029
Still no signature from Jonathan Marulanda
4 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Leones could get for him.
The dugout2 Apr 2029
Emmanuel Pasos gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Emmanuel Pasos is on it.
Market2 Apr 2029
Leones and Ian Alegria are talking past each other
“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.
In brief
- The dugout The manager makes Jhonatan Cuero a promise
- Market The shop window has Emmanuel Pasos in it
- The dugout Daniel Marmolejo knocks on the manager's door