Marked for Daniel Borja
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad25 Oct 2027
A season average of 7.22 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Cortulua know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Squad25 Oct 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 Cortulua this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad25 Oct 2027
“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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match25 Sep 2027
The wait goes on for Cortulua
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.
Player ratings27 Sep 2027
Successful dribbles: 25. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad27 Sep 2027
A season average of 7.23 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Cortulua know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Squad27 Sep 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 Cortulua this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad27 Sep 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Javier Herrera and Cortulua agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Match25 Sep 2027
1‑2 to Once Caldas, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market30 Aug 2027
$4.1M from Celta for Carlos Quintero. Money is money, but the dressing room has lost the man it looked to.
Market30 Aug 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Cortulua can pretend not to have heard.
Squad30 Aug 2027
At 20, Daniel Borja is already the best thing here
An average of 7.25 in a first team he is several years too young for. Cortulua have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Squad30 Aug 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 Cortulua this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market30 Aug 2027
Add another name to the list: Celta have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Edwin Duque. The answer from Cortulua has not changed — yet.
Player ratings30 Aug 2027
A performance of 9.02 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Favio Cabral 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 ratings30 Aug 2027
Marked 8.79 — 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.
Player ratings30 Aug 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.45, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match7 Aug 2027
3‑0, and Duvan Muriel took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Cortulua tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Market9 Aug 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Cortulua is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Market9 Aug 2027
Brian Ramirez 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 Cortulua can pretend not to have heard.
Squad9 Aug 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 Cortulua this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings9 Aug 2027
A performance of 8.95 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings9 Aug 2027
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.
Player ratings9 Aug 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.25, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings9 Aug 2027
A performance of 8.19 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad9 Aug 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Daniel Borja commits to Cortulua for another 5 years.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings2 Aug 2027
Successful dribbles: 32. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad2 Aug 2027
He is 20, he is averaging 7.24, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Squad2 Aug 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 Cortulua this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Loan watch2 Aug 2027
“I watch every Cortulua game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Universitario Popayan runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Match31 Jul 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad2 Aug 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Daniel Molina, and the manager let it.
Squad2 Aug 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Manuel Lemos commits to Cortulua for another 3 years.
Player ratings2 Aug 2027
A mark of 5.29 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
Player ratings2 Aug 2027
Marked 5.47, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match24 Jul 2027
The small margins put Cortulua out
Out, 1‑0 to Real Cartagena, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
Market26 Jul 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Cortulua can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings26 Jul 2027
Defensive actions: 29. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Santiago Rátiva 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 ratings26 Jul 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings26 Jul 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.80, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings26 Jul 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 20 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad26 Jul 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Edwin Duque and Cortulua agree another 4 years.
Squad26 Jul 2027
The manager makes an example of Brian Ramirez
“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
Player ratings5 Jul 2027
Successful dribbles: 33. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market5 Jul 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 Cortulua, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad5 Jul 2027
At 19, Daniel Borja is already the best thing here
An average of 7.20 in a first team he is several years too young for. Cortulua have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
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 Cortulua this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Jul 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Daniel Molina commits to Cortulua for another 4 years.
Match3 Jul 2027
1‑2 to Deportivo Pereira, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market14 Jun 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Cortulua can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings14 Jun 2027
A defender's afternoon for Mateo Vargas
Defensive actions: 30. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad14 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 Cortulua this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad14 Jun 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Hector Vargas and Cortulua agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Player ratings14 Jun 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings14 Jun 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.18, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Market14 Jun 2027
Business is business: Luis Caicedo goes
Real Cartagena paid $22.0K and Cortulua took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Player ratings14 Jun 2027
Marked 8.58 — 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market7 Jun 2027
The unthinkable, invoiced: Benjamín Rey sold
Santa Fe arrived with $4.5M and left with the best player in the building. The board will call it business; the queue at the ticket office will use other words.
Market7 Jun 2027
The bid was some way short and Cortulua did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market7 Jun 2027
Brian Ramirez 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 Cortulua can pretend not to have heard.
Squad7 Jun 2027
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.
Squad7 Jun 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Cortulua may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad7 Jun 2027
At 19, Daniel Borja is already the best thing here
An average of 7.15 in a first team he is several years too young for. Cortulua have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Carlos Quintero 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 ratings7 Jun 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match5 Jun 2027
1‑2 to Jaguares, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market17 May 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Cortulua can pretend not to have heard.
Squad17 May 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad17 May 2027
Cristian Herrera 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 ratings17 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings17 May 2027
Marked 8.31 — 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.
Squad17 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Daniel Molina, and the manager let it.
Squad17 May 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Valentín Ferrari commits to Cortulua for another 1 years.
Loan watch17 May 2027
“I did not go to Deportivo Pasto to sit and watch. I want to come back to Cortulua and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 20 matches say the rest.
Match15 May 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad10 May 2027
Jesus Giraldo decides it from twelve yards
4 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.
Match5 May 2027
Cup progress for Cortulua
A 2‑2 win over La Equidad, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Market10 May 2027
Brian Ramirez 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 Cortulua can pretend not to have heard.
Squad10 May 2027
Gabriel Gomez: 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.” Cortulua have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad10 May 2027
He is 19, he is averaging 7.09, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Player ratings10 May 2027
A defender's afternoon for Mateo Vargas
Defensive actions: 24. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad10 May 2027
Carlos Quintero 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.
Match8 May 2027
Three points for Cortulua, 1‑0 the final word against Deportivo Cali in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings10 May 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.52, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match1 May 2027
No end in sight to Cortulua's wait for a win
9 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Cortulua has to find a result from somewhere.
Player ratings3 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 32. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market3 May 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Cortulua can pretend not to have heard.
Squad3 May 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 Cortulua this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings3 May 2027
A performance of 8.71 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings3 May 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.11, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Loan watch3 May 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Cortulua, and 0 appearances in 10 say he has earned the hearing.
Match1 May 2027
A 2‑2 draw with Santa Fe leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Squad3 May 2027
“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
Market26 Apr 2027
Benjamín Rey 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 Cortulua can pretend not to have heard.
Match24 Apr 2027
The wait goes on for Cortulua
8 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.
Squad26 Apr 2027
There were 6 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 ratings26 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad26 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 Cortulua this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match24 Apr 2027
2‑3 to Independiente Medellin, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
Marked 8.69 — 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.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.44, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Loan watch26 Apr 2027
“I watch every Cortulua game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Unión de Santa Fe runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Apr 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 10 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market12 Apr 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Cortulua can pretend not to have heard.
Match10 Apr 2027
The wait goes on for Cortulua
6 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.
Squad12 Apr 2027
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Cortulua have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad12 Apr 2027
A season average of 7.00 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Cortulua know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Squad12 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 Cortulua this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings12 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Loan watch12 Apr 2027
“I did not go to Deportivo Pasto to sit and watch. I want to come back to Cortulua and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 15 matches say the rest.
Match10 Apr 2027
A 1‑1 draw with Atletico Nacional leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market8 Feb 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Cortulua can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings8 Feb 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.
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 Cortulua this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad8 Feb 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Brian Ramirez commits to Cortulua for another 1 years.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 18 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad8 Feb 2027
The award is a small thing with a heavy meaning: for four weeks nobody in this division did his job better. Cortulua have the trophy on a shelf and the player in the side.
Loan watch8 Feb 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Cortulua, and 0 appearances in 6 say he has earned the hearing.
Match6 Feb 2027
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. La Equidad came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market1 Feb 2027
Cortulua say no — this time
The offer from Al Ahli for Fernando Uribe 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.
Squad1 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 Cortulua this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Feb 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Brian Ramirez and Cortulua agree another 1 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Player ratings1 Feb 2027
Marked 8.45 — 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.
Squad1 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Daniel Molina, and the manager let it.
Loan watch1 Feb 2027
“I watch every Cortulua game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Unión de Santa Fe runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Match30 Jan 2027
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
Player ratings1 Feb 2027
Shots: 8, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
Player ratings1 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 12. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad25 Jan 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Cortulua may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market25 Jan 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 ratings25 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market25 Jan 2027
The shirt still fits. Alejandro Rangel is back at Cortulua, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Market25 Jan 2027
The shirt still fits. Francisco Lemos is back at Cortulua, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Market25 Jan 2027
As if he never left: Oscar Ramirez returns
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Oscar Ramirez is a Cortulua player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Carlos Quintero 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 ratings25 Jan 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.06, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match23 Jan 2027
A 1‑0 win over Jaguares, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
From our football correspondent
Steady
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 Cortulua this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad23 Nov 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Daniel Borja and Cortulua agree another 4 years.
Squad23 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Gabriel Gomez
“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
Upbeat
Squad28 Sep 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Cristian Herrera 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 ratings28 Sep 2026
A defender's afternoon for Mateo Vargas
Defensive actions: 20. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
A performance of 8.74 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match26 Sep 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Duvan Muriel. 1‑0 against Once Caldas, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Marked 8.47 — 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.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Gabriel Gomez 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 Gabriel Gomez trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad28 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Richard Mina
“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.