Marked for Guillermo Gallardo
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad30 Nov 2026
Alexis Alvarez 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.
Match28 Nov 2026
Guadalajara left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ulises Rivas, and the manager let it.
Market30 Nov 2026
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Veracruz can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
Squad30 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Veracruz
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Víctor Milke was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 17. 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 dugout30 Nov 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Carlos Lozano after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
Jorge Barrios 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 Jorge Barrios is on it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 9.11, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Squad23 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Veracruz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Jaime Gómez 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.
Match21 Nov 2026
Three points for Veracruz, 3‑1 the final word against Leon in a contest settled by the finer margins.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
“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.
Squad23 Nov 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Santiago Ojeda commits to Veracruz for another 3 years.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Marked 8.08 — 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.
Match23 Nov 2026
The half-term report on Veracruz
Position 12, 20 points, and every result so far reduced to one line. The second half of the season starts with the same squad and a different set of expectations.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 3‑1, Carlos Lozano could afford to be generous.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad16 Nov 2026
A falling-out at Veracruz
Alexis Alvarez and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad16 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Veracruz
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ulises Rivas was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match14 Nov 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 17. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
Víctor Milke 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.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
A promise honoured at Veracruz
Something was said to Guillermo Gallardo and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
Squad16 Nov 2026
9 new faces, and Veracruz are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Carlos Lozano after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
Ulises Rivas knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Ulises Rivas trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 34. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words exchanged at Veracruz
Alexis Alvarez 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.
Squad9 Nov 2026
17 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Match7 Nov 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Guillermo Gallardo. 3‑2 against Chiapas, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad9 Nov 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Jhory Celaya commits to Veracruz for another 3 years.
Squad9 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Veracruz
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jaime Gómez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match7 Nov 2026
Veracruz are shipping goals every week
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.
The terraces9 Nov 2026
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Nestor Gutierrez 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.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
A performance of 8.69 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad2 Nov 2026
Words exchanged at Veracruz
Jaime Gómez 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.
Match31 Oct 2026
1‑3 to Morelia, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad2 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Veracruz
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Víctor Milke was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 16. 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 dugout2 Nov 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑3 defeat, delivered by Carlos Lozano to a room that had heard them before.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Jorge Barrios
“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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Guillermo Gallardo is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
Squad2 Nov 2026
It will be explained as a change for the team and it may even be one. Nobody who has worn one believes that, and neither does the man who has just had it taken away.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 47. 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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Ulises Rivas in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Veracruz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Jaime Gómez 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.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Guillermo Alvarez, and the manager let it.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Veracruz told Jorge Rodríguez something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Squad26 Oct 2026
One weekend, judged against everybody else's. Guillermo Gallardo has come out on top of it, and for most footballers a weekly award is the only silverware a career ever produces.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match17 Oct 2026
2 behind and going nowhere, until Guillermo Gallardo decided otherwise. Puebla had done the hard part and then watched it come apart, and the noise at the final whistle was the sort a ground keeps.
Squad19 Oct 2026
3 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.
Squad19 Oct 2026
There were 7 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 ratings19 Oct 2026
Age has not caught Manuel Ramirez yet — 8.07
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.07 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Veracruz may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad19 Oct 2026
A falling-out at Veracruz
Ulises Rivas and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Marked 9.56 — 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.
Match17 Oct 2026
A 3‑2 win over Puebla, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Words at Veracruz training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Víctor Milke 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match3 Oct 2026
9 matches without a win for Veracruz
The run now stands at 9, and the questions being asked around Veracruz are no longer polite ones.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Two goals and a mark of 8.55 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 30. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad5 Oct 2026
6 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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Alexis Alvarez 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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Words at Veracruz training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jaime Gómez 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.
Match3 Oct 2026
Veracruz leaking at the back
4 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.
Loan watch5 Oct 2026
“I did not go to Dorados to sit and watch. I want to come back to Veracruz and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 7 matches say the rest.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
The manager makes an example of Ulises Rivas
“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
Crisis
Squad28 Sep 2026
10 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.
Match26 Sep 2026
Nowhere to hide for Veracruz
0‑3 against Monterrey, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Match26 Sep 2026
8 matches without a win for Veracruz
The run now stands at 8, and the questions being asked around Veracruz are no longer polite ones.
Squad28 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Veracruz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match26 Sep 2026
3 matches without a goal for Veracruz
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.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
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.
Market28 Sep 2026
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.
Squad28 Sep 2026
A row about effort at Veracruz
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Víctor Milke was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom28 Sep 2026
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 41. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match19 Sep 2026
0‑3 to Pumas UNAM, 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.
Match19 Sep 2026
The wait goes on for Veracruz
7 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.
Squad21 Sep 2026
A falling-out at Veracruz
Alexis Alvarez and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jaime Gómez, and the manager let it.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words at Veracruz training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Víctor Milke 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.
Boardroom21 Sep 2026
Nobody left the Veracruz 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.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Squad21 Sep 2026
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.