Marked for Leonardo Ramirez
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad31 May 2027
A fracture rules Victor Herrera out for 36 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Valledupar will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market31 May 2027
“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 The request is on a desk at Valledupar, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match29 May 2027
Three points for Valledupar, 2‑1 the final word against Bogota in a contest settled by the finer margins.
The terraces31 May 2027
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Nicolas Valencia has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Squad31 May 2027
Fernando Ospina and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad31 May 2027
Words at Valledupar training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Brian Martinez 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 dugout31 May 2027
Jorge Gomez: “That is the standard”
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 2‑1, already talking about the next one.
Squad31 May 2027
The division's best last weekend was a Valledupar man
It is a small honour and it is not nothing: somebody watched every match in the division and decided that Alfredo Romero was the best thing in any of them.
Market31 May 2027
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Valledupar has been clear about where Leonardo Ramirez stands, which is more than many ever get.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad11 Jan 2027
Miguel Moreno and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Leonardo Ramirez is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Squad11 Jan 2027
A row about effort at Valledupar
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and David Palacios was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad7 Dec 2026
A row about effort at Valledupar
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Miguel Moreno was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Erick Chávez 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.
Boardroom7 Dec 2026
Wages eat 95% of everything Valledupar earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Transfer targets7 Dec 2026
A loan enquiry to Independiente Medellin: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Transfer targets7 Dec 2026
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 targets7 Dec 2026
A loan enquiry to Envigado: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Transfer targets7 Dec 2026
A loan move for Íker Blanco is in the works
Valledupar have made the call to Independiente Medellin. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
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 Cristian Montero is on it.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
“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
Squad30 Nov 2026
Miguel Moreno 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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
David Palacios 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.
Market30 Nov 2026
Valledupar have let the market know Miguel Moreno can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market19 Oct 2026
“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 Oct 2026
Leonardo Ramirez is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Squad19 Oct 2026
The decline has begun for Roy Castillo
Everybody saw it before anybody said it. At 35 the numbers say 3 points down on what he was, and the question for Valledupar is how to handle a man they owe a great deal.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market21 Sep 2026
Miguel Moreno 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 Valledupar can pretend not to have heard.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Miguel Moreno and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad21 Sep 2026
At 20 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market24 Aug 2026
“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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Miguel Moreno 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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
54 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.