Marked for Gabriel Cordova
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market9 Aug 2027
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.
Squad9 Aug 2027
A season average of 7.24 with 17 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad9 Aug 2027
A falling-out at Llaneros
Alejandro Moreno and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match7 Aug 2027
Aragua left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout9 Aug 2027
The manager makes an example of Andres 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.
Squad9 Aug 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Victor Rincon commits to Llaneros for another 2 years.
Player ratings9 Aug 2027
Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout9 Aug 2027
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Victor Murillo after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout9 Aug 2027
Oscar Ferraresi has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Llaneros will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings12 Jul 2027
Successful dribbles: 38. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market12 Jul 2027
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Llaneros people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Match10 Jul 2027
6 matches without a win for Llaneros
The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Llaneros are no longer polite ones.
Match10 Jul 2027
6 matches without a goal for Llaneros
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 6 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Squad12 Jul 2027
A falling-out at Llaneros
Alejandro Moreno and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets12 Jul 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.
Match10 Jul 2027
Estudiantes de Merida left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Market12 Jul 2027
Everyone has stopped pretending: Shakhter will make the call about Darwin Castillo this week. Llaneros have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
The dugout12 Jul 2027
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑1, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings28 Jun 2027
Successful dribbles: 34. 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.
Market28 Jun 2027
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Western Sydney Wanderers had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
Market28 Jun 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Llaneros have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Squad28 Jun 2027
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.
Match26 Jun 2027
4 matches without a win for Llaneros
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Llaneros are no longer polite ones.
Match26 Jun 2027
4 matches without a goal for Llaneros
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Alejandro 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.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Words at Llaneros training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jair Andara 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.
Transfer targets28 Jun 2027
Llaneros asked and Fortaleza said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings21 Jun 2027
Successful dribbles: 32. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Market21 Jun 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Llaneros have lost him in all but the paperwork.
The dugout21 Jun 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Llaneros may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad21 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 Llaneros this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match19 Jun 2027
3 matches without a goal for Llaneros
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.
Transfer targets21 Jun 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.
Match19 Jun 2027
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout21 Jun 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Andres Machis, and the manager let it.
The dugout21 Jun 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑2 Victor Murillo left the room before anybody could ask which.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings14 Jun 2027
Successful dribbles: 42. 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.
Market14 Jun 2027
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Llaneros people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Transfer targets14 Jun 2027
Llaneros have gone to Mineros de Guayana with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Squad14 Jun 2027
A falling-out at Llaneros
Alejandro Moreno and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets14 Jun 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.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Jair Andara 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.
Match12 Jun 2027
Zamora left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout14 Jun 2027
The manager makes an example of Cristian 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 dugout14 Jun 2027
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Victor Murillo after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market7 Jun 2027
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Llaneros can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
Market7 Jun 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Llaneros have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Words exchanged at Llaneros
Alejandro Moreno 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 targets7 Jun 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Metropolitanos have kept their man, and Llaneros go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The dugout7 Jun 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jhon González, and the manager let it.
Match5 Jun 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout7 Jun 2027
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Victor Murillo after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Oscar Ferraresi named in the team of the month
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Oscar Ferraresi is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Javier Maldonado 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match29 May 2027
Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 3‑0 against Atletico Venezuela, and it could have been more.
Player ratings31 May 2027
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.37, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Player ratings31 May 2027
Sergio Casseres, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.85
A mark of 7.85 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Squad31 May 2027
Alejandro 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.
Player ratings31 May 2027
Oscar Ferraresi was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.73. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
The dugout31 May 2027
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Victor Murillo on a 3‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
The dugout31 May 2027
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 Oscar Ferraresi is on it.
Squad31 May 2027
A row about effort at Llaneros
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Javier Maldonado was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Looking ahead31 May 2027
A test against the best for Llaneros
The team at the top of the table next, and the honest measure of where this side actually is. Anybody can beat the club below them; the question is what happens against Caracas.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings24 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 37. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad24 May 2027
3 goals in one game. The first was taken well, the second was taken greedily, and by the third the crowd were simply waiting for him to get the ball.
Squad24 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 Llaneros this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings24 May 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.75, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match22 May 2027
A 3‑1 win over Estudiantes de Caracas, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad24 May 2027
Words at Llaneros training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jair Andara 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 terraces24 May 2027
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Sergio Casseres 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.
The dugout24 May 2027
A promise honoured for Jair Andara
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Llaneros told Jair Andara something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
The dugout24 May 2027
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 3‑1, Victor Murillo could afford to be generous.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings17 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 27. 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 dugout17 May 2027
Francisco Osorio: 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.” Llaneros have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad17 May 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Jhon González commits to Llaneros for another 2 years.
Squad17 May 2027
Words exchanged at Llaneros
Jhon González 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.
Match15 May 2027
The goals have deserted Llaneros
3 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.
Match15 May 2027
0‑1 to Mineros de Guayana, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout17 May 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 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Victor Murillo to a room that had heard them before.
The dugout17 May 2027
Sergio 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.
Squad17 May 2027
Words at Llaneros training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Javier Maldonado 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
Steady
Squad10 May 2027
A falling-out at Llaneros
Jhon González and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout10 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Diego Rondon, and the manager let it.
Player ratings10 May 2027
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 dugout10 May 2027
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Squad10 May 2027
A row about effort at Llaneros
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Javier Maldonado was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match8 May 2027
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Carabobo came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
Market10 May 2027
The name of Oscar Ferraresi keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Llaneros say nothing, which says plenty.
The dugout10 May 2027
Nobody at Llaneros is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
The dugout10 May 2027
“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
Crisis
Player ratings3 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 24. 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.
Squad3 May 2027
Alejandro 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.
Squad3 May 2027
Jair Andara 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.
Match1 May 2027
Portuguesa left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
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 10, 18 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 dugout3 May 2027
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Victor Murillo after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Squad3 May 2027
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Juan Pablo Curvino has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
Squad3 May 2027
Four or five weekends of consistency, measured against everybody else in the division. A quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
A brace, and Oscar Ferraresi takes the afternoon — 8.98
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Oscar Ferraresi provided it, and the 8.98 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
No sign of nerves from Sergio Casseres at 21 — 7.66
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Sergio Casseres did not need any: 7.66, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 25. 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 Llaneros this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match24 Apr 2027
A 2‑1 win over Aragua, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
The terraces26 Apr 2027
At 21 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
The manager makes an example of Diego Arango
“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 dugout26 Apr 2027
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Victor Murillo on a 2‑1 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Javier Maldonado 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings19 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 37. 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.
Match17 Apr 2027
Chastening afternoon for Llaneros
A 0‑3 beating by Deportivo Lara was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Jhon González 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 dugout19 Apr 2027
The manager makes an example of Jhon González
“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.
Boardroom19 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 dugout19 Apr 2027
“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.
Squad19 Apr 2027
A row about effort at Llaneros
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Javier Maldonado was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
A promise honoured at Llaneros
Something was said to Santiago Vergara and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Somebody watched every match in the division at the weekend and decided he was the best thing in any of them. A small honour, and most careers end without one.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings12 Apr 2027
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 9.16, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Squad12 Apr 2027
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.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Alejandro 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.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Words at Llaneros training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jair Andara 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.
Match10 Apr 2027
It finished 2‑0, and it was Oscar Ferraresi’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Llaneros.
Player ratings12 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 19. 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 dugout12 Apr 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.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Victor Murillo kept it short after the 2‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
Market12 Apr 2027
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings5 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 25. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market5 Apr 2027
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Llaneros can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
Squad5 Apr 2027
A falling-out at Llaneros
Jhon González and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match3 Apr 2027
The goals have deserted Llaneros
3 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.
The terraces5 Apr 2027
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Jeifer Nontoa 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.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
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 Oscar Ferraresi is on it.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Somebody has moved past him. It is not a dropping and it is worse than one, because a dropping is about a Saturday and this is about where he stands.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Francisco Osorio, and the manager let it.
Squad5 Apr 2027
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.
In brief
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The dugout
The manager’s verdict
-
Squad
Javier Maldonado falls out with a teammate over standards
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The dugout
Jair Andara asks for a word with the manager
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings29 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Words exchanged at Llaneros
Jhon González 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.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Andres Machis, and the manager let it.
Match27 Mar 2027
Estudiantes de Merida left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Victor Murillo left the room before anybody could ask which.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Javier Maldonado 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 dugout29 Mar 2027
Jair Andara 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.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
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.
Squad29 Mar 2027
“Nobody outside is coming to save us.” It was short, it was not comfortable, and by all accounts the Llaneros squad were quieter afterwards than they had been all season.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad22 Mar 2027
Jhon González 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 ratings22 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 21. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Words at Llaneros training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jair Andara 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 dugout22 Mar 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.
Match20 Mar 2027
0‑1 to Deportivo Tachira, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Victor Murillo after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
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 dugout22 Mar 2027
The manager makes Jair Andara 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.
Squad22 Mar 2027
A call-up flatters the player and the club that produced him in the same breath. Llaneros would like him back in one piece and know they will not be consulted.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
Two goals and a mark of 8.94 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Squad15 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.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. 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.
Match13 Mar 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Oscar Ferraresi. 2‑1 against Metropolitanos, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Javier Maldonado 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.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Llaneros are still strangers to each other
5 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Victor Murillo kept it short after the 2‑1 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
The dugout15 Mar 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.
Looking ahead15 Mar 2027
Llaneros take on the side everybody is chasing
Deportivo Tachira arrive as leaders. A side at the top is beaten roughly once a month, and the club that does it gets a week it remembers for a year.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market8 Mar 2027
FH come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Llaneros did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 25. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Match6 Mar 2027
No end in sight to Llaneros's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Llaneros has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Andres Machis commits to Llaneros for another 2 years.
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
A falling-out at Llaneros
Jhon González and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
The manager makes an example of Diego Rondon
“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.
Squad8 Mar 2027
A row about effort at Llaneros
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Javier Maldonado was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
Somebody else is better right now than Jair Andara
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match24 Feb 2027
Caracas ended it 0‑3. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.
Market1 Mar 2027
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Metalist had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
The terraces1 Mar 2027
A cup embarrassment at Caracas follows Llaneros home
0-3. Going out of a cup is one afternoon; going out like that is a week of phone-ins, and the manager will hear every one of them.
Player ratings1 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 24. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Words exchanged at Llaneros
Jhon González 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.
Match27 Feb 2027
3 matches without a goal for Llaneros
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.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Words at Llaneros training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jair Andara 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.
Match27 Feb 2027
A bad afternoon for Llaneros against Zamora
0‑2 to Zamora, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to José Graterol, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad22 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 Llaneros this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market22 Feb 2027
The name of Sergio Otero has come up in conversations Llaneros were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
The manager makes an example of Andres 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.
Match20 Feb 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout22 Feb 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 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Victor Murillo to a room that had heard them before.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Words at Llaneros training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Javier Maldonado 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 dugout22 Feb 2027
Diego Rondon 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.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Somebody watched every match in the division at the weekend and decided he was the best thing in any of them. A small honour, and most careers end without one.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market8 Feb 2027
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Darwin Castillo had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
Squad8 Feb 2027
A fracture rules Rafael Ferraresi out for 14 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.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 28. 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
A falling-out at Llaneros
Jhon González and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Words at Llaneros training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jair Andara 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.
Market8 Feb 2027
Oscar Ferraresi is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Llaneros has been clear about where Oscar Ferraresi stands, which is more than many ever get.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Diego Rondon, and the manager let it.
Squad8 Feb 2027
David Moreno makes the team of the month
Four or five weekends of consistency, measured against everybody else in the division. A quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad1 Feb 2027
A fracture rules Rafael Ferraresi out for 21 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.
Market1 Feb 2027
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Sergio Otero had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
The dugout1 Feb 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Llaneros may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market1 Feb 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Llaneros have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Words exchanged at Llaneros
Jhon González 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.
The terraces1 Feb 2027
At 21 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Market1 Feb 2027
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Alejandro Moreno has his answer from Llaneros; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
The dugout1 Feb 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.
Match30 Jan 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Gabriel Cordova. 1‑0 against Mineros de Guayana, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad14 Dec 2026
A falling-out at Llaneros
Jhon González and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad14 Dec 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Fabian Sanchez and Llaneros agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Transfer targets14 Dec 2026
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.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Gabriel 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.
Transfer targets14 Dec 2026
A loan enquiry to Banfield: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Transfer targets14 Dec 2026
PAOK 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 dugout14 Dec 2026
Oscar Ferraresi has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Llaneros will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Market14 Dec 2026
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Darwin Rincon has his answer from Llaneros; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Market14 Dec 2026
The name of Oscar Ferraresi keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Llaneros say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad7 Dec 2026
Words exchanged at Llaneros
Jhon González 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 Dec 2026
Words at Llaneros training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gabriel 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.
Transfer targets7 Dec 2026
A loan move for Enzo Cabrera is in the works
Llaneros have made the call to Danubio. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Market7 Dec 2026
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Roberto Soteldo has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Llaneros.
The dugout7 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.
Market7 Dec 2026
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Alejandro Moreno signs something — a contract at Llaneros or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Boardroom7 Dec 2026
Open for business: Llaneros enter the window
The registration window is open and the phone has started. Between now and the deadline this club will be linked with forty players and sign three, which is the usual ratio.
The dugout7 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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
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 Llaneros this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad23 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Llaneros
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Gabriel Cordova was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
Diego Rondon 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
Steady
Squad2 Nov 2026
Jhon González 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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Llaneros
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Gabriel Cordova was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad2 Nov 2026
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Diego Cordova has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad26 Oct 2026
Alejandro 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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
A row about effort at Llaneros
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Gabriel Cordova was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout26 Oct 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
Steady
Squad12 Oct 2026
A falling-out at Llaneros
Alejandro Moreno and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Gabriel 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.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Jhon González has outgrown this division
There is a level at which a footballer stops being tested and starts being contained, and he reached it some time ago. Llaneros know it, and so does everybody who watches him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad14 Sep 2026
Gabriel Cordova damages knee ligaments — 19 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 19 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
A row about effort at Llaneros
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and David Gonzalez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad7 Sep 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Gabriel Cordova
26 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Llaneros lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 12 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Match2 Sep 2026
Llaneros bow out of the cup
Zamora go through and Llaneros go home, 0‑1 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Market7 Sep 2026
Llaneros say no — this time
The offer from JS Saoura for Darwin Castillo 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.
The terraces7 Sep 2026
At 19 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Andres Machis, and the manager let it.
Squad7 Sep 2026
A falling-out at Llaneros
David Martinez and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Victor Murillo after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Fabian Sanchez named in the team of the month
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Fabian Sanchez is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad31 Aug 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Gabriel Cordova
33 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Llaneros lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market31 Aug 2026
The phone has started ringing about Darwin Castillo again, and this time the name on the line is JS Saoura. Llaneros are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Alejandro 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match19 Aug 2026
Llaneros march on in the cup
Deportivo Lara are out and Llaneros go through, 1‑0 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Llaneros
Alejandro Moreno 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.
The terraces24 Aug 2026
Llaneros supporters have found a favourite in Juan Bruno
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Juan Bruno 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 ratings24 Aug 2026
Marked 8.06 — 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.
The dugout24 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Diego Arango, and the manager let it.
The dugout24 Aug 2026
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Victor Murillo, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
The dugout24 Aug 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 Oscar Ferraresi is on it.
Squad24 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Llaneros
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Rafael Arango was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad17 Aug 2026
Andres Machis decides it from twelve yards
3 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.
Match12 Aug 2026
Llaneros march on in the cup
Caracas are out and Llaneros go through, 1‑1 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 27. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad17 Aug 2026
A falling-out at Llaneros
Alejandro Moreno and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout17 Aug 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.
Match12 Aug 2026
Late, late show earns Llaneros a point
Minute 99, against Caracas, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Twelve yards, a goalkeeper guessing, and it still did not go in. He will take the next one, and every soul in the ground will hold their breath.
Squad17 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Rafael Arango commits to Llaneros for another 3 years.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Victor Murillo after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad10 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Alejandro Moreno commits to Llaneros for another 4 years.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Alejandro 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.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
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.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Words at Llaneros training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Diego Rondon 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 dugout10 Aug 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.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Marked 7.96 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Llaneros had the best player on the pitch.
Match8 Aug 2026
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
The dugout10 Aug 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Alejandro Moreno trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout10 Aug 2026
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 9.01, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Market3 Aug 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 Llaneros can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 23. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad3 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.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words at Llaneros training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gabriel 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.
Match1 Aug 2026
It finished 2‑0, and it was Oscar Ferraresi’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Llaneros.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” David Gonzalez and Llaneros agree another 2 years.
The dugout3 Aug 2026
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑0, Victor Murillo could afford to be generous.
The dugout3 Aug 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Alejandro Moreno trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.