Marked for Gustavo Ramirez
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad30 Nov 2026
Rodrygo Costa damages knee ligaments — 65 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 65 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.
Squad30 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 Universitario Popayan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kevin Falcao was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jose Ramirez, and the manager let it.
The dugout30 Nov 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 Nicolas Murillo is on it.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
Hugo Diaz 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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad26 Oct 2026
The knee: Rodrygo Costa out for 101 days
101 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Universitario Popayan lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Richard Montero 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
Words at Universitario Popayan training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kevin Falcao 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 dugout26 Oct 2026
Yerry Moreno has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Universitario Popayan 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.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
Nicolas Perez 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.
Market26 Oct 2026
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Arthur Rangel may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad24 Aug 2026
Richard Montero 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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words at Universitario Popayan training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rodrygo Costa 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
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The 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 Carlos Gonzalez is on it.
The dugout24 Aug 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 Universitario Popayan, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout24 Aug 2026
David Vargas keeps his manager's vote
The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: David Vargas plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.