Marked for Andres Otero
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match3 Apr 2027
16 matches without a win for Llaneros
The run now stands at 16, and the questions being asked around Llaneros are no longer polite ones.
Squad5 Apr 2027
There were 9 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.
Match3 Apr 2027
0‑3 to Deportivo La Guaira, 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.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Llaneros may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market5 Apr 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 The request is on a desk at Llaneros, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market5 Apr 2027
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Rafael Gonzalez wants continental football; whether Llaneros can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
Squad5 Apr 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 Llaneros this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom5 Apr 2027
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Diego Rosales after 0‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match6 Mar 2027
12 matches without a win for Llaneros
The run now stands at 12, and the questions being asked around Llaneros are no longer polite ones.
Market8 Mar 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 The request is on a desk at Llaneros, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Francisco Soteldo and Llaneros agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Match6 Mar 2027
Llaneros cannot find the net
4 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Squad8 Mar 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 Llaneros this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Sergio Casseres, and the manager let it.
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
Marked 7.41. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
Squad8 Mar 2027
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Fernando Gonzalez is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 14. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad25 Jan 2027
A fracture rules Roberto Casseres out for 32 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Llaneros will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match23 Jan 2027
Nowhere to hide for Llaneros
0‑5 against Carabobo, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Match23 Jan 2027
The wait goes on for Llaneros
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.
Market25 Jan 2027
Andres Otero 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 Llaneros can pretend not to have heard.
Match23 Jan 2027
The goals have deserted Llaneros
5 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Llaneros can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Words exchanged at Llaneros
Francisco Soteldo 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.
Boardroom25 Jan 2027
5 academy graduates step up at Llaneros
Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.
Market25 Jan 2027
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Sergio Moreno is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market25 Jan 2027
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Jose Cordova 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad18 Jan 2027
39 days out for Roberto Casseres after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Llaneros will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market18 Jan 2027
Llaneros say no — this time
The offer from USM Khenchela for Rafael Herrera 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.
Squad18 Jan 2027
A falling-out at Llaneros
Francisco Soteldo and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
Rafael Gonzalez 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.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Fernando Gonzalez, and the manager let it.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad28 Dec 2026
A fracture rules Roberto Casseres out for 62 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Llaneros will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market28 Dec 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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Words exchanged at Llaneros
Francisco Soteldo 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.
Transfer targets28 Dec 2026
Llaneros asked and Atletico Nacional said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Transfer targets28 Dec 2026
Plaza Colonia have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad30 Nov 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 91 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market30 Nov 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.
Market30 Nov 2026
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Rafael Gonzalez wants continental football; whether Llaneros can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words exchanged at Llaneros
Francisco Soteldo 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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words at Llaneros training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Oscar Rincon 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 dugout30 Nov 2026
Rafael Otero 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad2 Nov 2026
A fracture rules Roberto Casseres out for 119 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Llaneros will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market2 Nov 2026
“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 Llaneros, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Words at Llaneros training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Oscar Rincon 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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
A falling-out at Llaneros
Manuel Medina and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
Rafael Otero has been promised minutes
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Rafael Otero has written the date down.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
Sergio Moreno knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Llaneros, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market5 Oct 2026
Andres Otero 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 Llaneros can pretend not to have heard.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Words exchanged at Llaneros
Francisco Soteldo 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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
A muscle injury sidelines Richard Ferraresi for 16 days
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Llaneros will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Squad5 Oct 2026
A row about effort at Llaneros
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Fernando Cordova was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
The manager makes Rafael Otero a promise
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Llaneros. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Alejandro Rondon trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
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 falling-out at Llaneros
Francisco Soteldo and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Words at Llaneros training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Oscar Rincon 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 dugout28 Sep 2026
Rafael Otero has been promised minutes
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Rafael Otero has written the date down.
Market28 Sep 2026
The name of Rafael Herrera keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Llaneros say nothing, which says plenty.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Alejandro Rondon trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market7 Sep 2026
Andres Otero 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 Llaneros can pretend not to have heard.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words exchanged at Llaneros
Francisco Soteldo 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
A row about effort at Llaneros
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Miguel Martinez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad7 Sep 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Carlos Rincon commits to Llaneros for another 3 years.
The dugout7 Sep 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Diego Herrera slips down the pecking order
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Diego Herrera is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market10 Aug 2026
“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 Llaneros, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Francisco Soteldo and Llaneros agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad10 Aug 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 Llaneros this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad10 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Llaneros
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Francisco Soteldo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The terraces10 Aug 2026
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 19-year-old it feels ownership of. Alejandro Rondon 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 ratings10 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 18. 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 dugout10 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Miguel Martinez, and the manager let it.
The dugout10 Aug 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Francisco Soteldo trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout10 Aug 2026
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Diego Rosales chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.