Marked for Junior Machis
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match1 May 2027
No end in sight to Llaneros's wait for a win
20 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Llaneros has to find a result from somewhere.
The terraces3 May 2027
The mood at Llaneros has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Match1 May 2027
Beaten 0‑4 by Portuguesa, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Market3 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 The request is on a desk at Llaneros, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match1 May 2027
No clean sheets in sight for Llaneros
7 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
Squad3 May 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 dugout3 May 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.
Match3 May 2027
The half-term report on Llaneros
Position 16, 3 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.
Boardroom3 May 2027
Nobody left the Llaneros 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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match17 Apr 2027
The wait goes on for Llaneros
18 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.
Match19 Apr 2027
Every point is an argument now for Llaneros
Position 16 and 2 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad19 Apr 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.
Match17 Apr 2027
Llaneros are shipping goals every week
Two or more conceded in each of the last 5 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Match17 Apr 2027
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
The manager makes an example of Oscar Rincon
“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.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
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 Diego Rosales to a room that had heard them before.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Llaneros told Alejandro Rondon something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match20 Mar 2027
14 matches without a win for Llaneros
The run now stands at 14, and the questions being asked around Llaneros are no longer polite ones.
Match20 Mar 2027
Nowhere to hide for Llaneros
1‑5 against Deportivo Tachira, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Match22 Mar 2027
Llaneros sink to position 16
2 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Squad22 Mar 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.
Match20 Mar 2027
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Llaneros and Deportivo Tachira, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Boardroom22 Mar 2027
Nobody left the Llaneros 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 dugout22 Mar 2027
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑5, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Whether it was the goalkeeper or the ten in front of him is the argument that will fill every conversation in town this week. 4 saves does not settle it either way.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
The manager makes an example of Junior Machis
“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
Squad8 Feb 2027
18 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.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
A brace, and Rafael Gonzalez takes the afternoon — 8.83
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Rafael Gonzalez provided it, and the 8.83 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Match6 Feb 2027
7 matches without a win for Llaneros
The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Llaneros are no longer polite ones.
Market8 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.
Squad8 Feb 2027
An unwelcome headline for Oscar Rincon
He will be fined, he will apologise, and he will play on Saturday. The order of those three tells you everything about what a football club actually values.
Match6 Feb 2027
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Llaneros and Estudiantes de Caracas, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Match6 Feb 2027
Estudiantes de Caracas left with the points after a 2‑4 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Market8 Feb 2027
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Llaneros has been clear about where Fernando Cordova stands, which is more than many ever get.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Voices raised on the Llaneros training ground
Two players, one bad tackle and a session that had to be stopped. It was over in a minute; it was outside the gates in an hour.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad4 Jan 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 53 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market4 Jan 2027
Junior Machis 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.
Transfer targets4 Jan 2027
Everything agreed with Plaza Colonia, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Francisco Soteldo 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.
Transfer targets4 Jan 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Transfer targets4 Jan 2027
A loan enquiry to Almirante Brown: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
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.
Market4 Jan 2027
The window shut and Junior Soteldo is still in the building
Llaneros spent a month trying to move him and nobody rang back. He trains with a squad that has told him where he stands, and both sides start counting down to the next one.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Darwin Machis has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad21 Dec 2026
69 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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
A muscle injury sidelines Rafael Otero for 14 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.
Transfer targets21 Dec 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Alianza Lima have kept their man, and Llaneros go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The dugout21 Dec 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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words exchanged at Llaneros
Manuel Medina 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 targets21 Dec 2026
A loan enquiry to Atletico Nacional: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Transfer targets21 Dec 2026
A loan enquiry to Almagro: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Squad21 Dec 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.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad7 Dec 2026
84 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.
Market7 Dec 2026
Junior Machis 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 Dec 2026
An unwelcome headline for Oscar Rincon
He will be fined, he will apologise, and he will play on Saturday. The order of those three tells you everything about what a football club actually values.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Francisco Soteldo 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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Words at Llaneros training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Fernando Cordova 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 dugout7 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Rafael Gonzalez, and the manager let it.
Transfer targets7 Dec 2026
Alianza Lima 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.
Transfer targets7 Dec 2026
Estudiantes 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.
Market7 Dec 2026
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Llaneros has been clear about where Fernando Gonzalez stands, which is more than many ever get.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad9 Nov 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 112 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market9 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.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Francisco Soteldo 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.
Squad9 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Llaneros
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Oscar Rincon was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad9 Nov 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Sergio Moreno and Llaneros agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout9 Nov 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market12 Oct 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.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Francisco Soteldo 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 dugout12 Oct 2026
“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
Squad21 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 Llaneros this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market21 Sep 2026
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Llaneros know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout21 Sep 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market14 Sep 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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Fernando Cordova 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.
Squad14 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 Llaneros this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad24 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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words at Llaneros training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Fernando Cordova 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 dugout24 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Rafael Gonzalez
“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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Luis Savarino and Llaneros agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Market24 Aug 2026
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Llaneros know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad24 Aug 2026
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Llaneros will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.