Marked for Nathan Borges
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad25 Sep 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Iquique this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad25 Sep 2028
The manager makes an example of Nathan Borges
“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.
Squad25 Sep 2028
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Iquique, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings5 Jun 2028
Successful dribbles: 43. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market5 Jun 2028
Iquique say no — this time
The offer from Universidad Catolica for Agustín Venezia was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Squad5 Jun 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Iquique may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad5 Jun 2028
Agustín Venezia 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.
Match3 Jun 2028
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad5 Jun 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Nathan Borges and Iquique agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad5 Jun 2028
Dylan Arias in trouble away from the ground
Every paper's favourite story and every manager's least. What happened is being dealt with internally, which is the phrase clubs use when they would rather nobody asked again.
Player ratings5 Jun 2028
The one thing Iam González could not do
Shots: 11, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
Market5 Jun 2028
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Matías Blázquez has his answer from Iquique; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings8 May 2028
Successful dribbles: 31. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings8 May 2028
Defensive actions: 30. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad8 May 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Iquique may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Player ratings8 May 2028
Defensive actions: 25. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad8 May 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Franco Ledesma commits to Iquique for another 1 years.
Squad8 May 2028
Agustín Venezia 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 ratings8 May 2028
Marked 9.16 — 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.
Squad8 May 2028
“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
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The terraces
The press have found their man in Enzo Hoyos
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The terraces
The stand has a song for Enzo Hoyos
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings3 Apr 2028
Successful dribbles: 38. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad3 Apr 2028
There were 8 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Nathan Borges: 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.” Iquique have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad3 Apr 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Iquique this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings3 Apr 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.05, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match1 Apr 2028
It finished 2‑0, and it was Iam González’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Iquique.
Player ratings3 Apr 2028
Defensive actions: 16, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad3 Apr 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Dylan Arias and Iquique agree another 4 years.
The terraces3 Apr 2028
Everybody has an opinion about Zacarías López
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad20 Mar 2028
Vicente Lagos decides it from twelve yards
3 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.
Match15 Mar 2028
Cup progress for Iquique
A 0‑0 win over Huachipato, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Player ratings20 Mar 2028
Successful dribbles: 26. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad20 Mar 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Iquique this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings20 Mar 2028
Defensive actions: 21, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Match18 Mar 2028
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings20 Mar 2028
A performance of 8.37 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings20 Mar 2028
The kick that got away from Jason León
Twelve yards, a goalkeeper guessing, and it still did not go in. He will take the next one, and every soul in the ground will hold their breath.
Squad20 Mar 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Alonso López commits to Iquique for another 4 years.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad24 Jan 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Iquique this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Jan 2028
“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.
Squad24 Jan 2028
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Iquique will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market13 Dec 2027
Iquique say no — this time
The offer from Union Espanola for Iam González was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Agustín Venezia 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.
Market13 Dec 2027
Simón Contreras has left for Colo-Colo in a $710.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Squad13 Dec 2027
“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.
Squad13 Dec 2027
“I want to play”: Lukas Fredes speaks
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
Squad13 Dec 2027
A new face in his position, and Zacarías López suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Iquique have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad1 Nov 2027
Felipe Espinoza: 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.” Iquique have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Agustín Venezia 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.
Squad1 Nov 2027
“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
Uneasy
Squad4 Oct 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Franco Ledesma and Iquique agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Agustín Venezia 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.
Squad4 Oct 2027
The manager makes an example of Nathan Borges
“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
Player ratings6 Sep 2027
Successful dribbles: 25. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match4 Sep 2027
7 unbeaten for Iquique
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 7 matches without defeat is a foundation Iquique did not have in the autumn.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Agustín Venezia was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings6 Sep 2027
A performance of 8.43 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad6 Sep 2027
“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.
Match4 Sep 2027
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
The terraces6 Sep 2027
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
Market6 Sep 2027
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Iquique, another week without a signature from Nathan Borges.
Player ratings6 Sep 2027
Marked 5.79, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match3 Jul 2027
0‑3 to Colo-Colo, 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.
Player ratings5 Jul 2027
Successful dribbles: 32. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad5 Jul 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Iquique this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Jul 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Zacarías López, and the manager let it.
Boardroom5 Jul 2027
Nobody left the Iquique dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
Player ratings5 Jul 2027
Shots: 9. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Squad5 Jul 2027
A season average of 7.30 with 3 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
The terraces5 Jul 2027
Everybody has an opinion about Zacarías López
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.
Loan watch5 Jul 2027
21 appearances away from home and 7 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings7 Jun 2027
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.
Player ratings7 Jun 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 25 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad7 Jun 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Iquique this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match5 Jun 2027
Whatever happens, Iquique do not lose
6 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Market7 Jun 2027
Palestino paid $170.0K and Iquique took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Squad7 Jun 2027
The medical room confirms 15 days on the sidelines for Yannis Lagha, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Dilan Rojas gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings7 Jun 2027
Shots: 9. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Match5 Jun 2027
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Universidad de Chile will be the happier side with the point.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad8 Feb 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Antalyaspor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
Marked 8.20 — 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.
Squad8 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Kenneth Paal, and the manager let it.
Match6 Feb 2027
A 1‑1 draw with Kayserispor leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Emir Faccioli 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.
Market8 Feb 2027
The Nikola Storm talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Antalyaspor know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
5.25 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.
Squad8 Feb 2027
A season on the outside for Mariano Miño
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Antalyaspor has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market1 Feb 2027
“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.
Player ratings1 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 25. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Albion Rrahmani 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.
Match30 Jan 2027
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad1 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Julián Cuesta, and the manager let it.
Player ratings1 Feb 2027
A performance of 8.38 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Market1 Feb 2027
Nathan Borges is 20, and Antalyaspor 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 terraces1 Feb 2027
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
Squad1 Feb 2027
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Antalyaspor has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.