Marked for Rafael Garcia
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad7 Dec 2026
17 days out for Rafael Garcia after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Universitario Popayan will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Transfer targets7 Dec 2026
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Universitario Popayan have done the hard part with Santa Fe, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Nicolas 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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Francisco Herrera is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Words at Universitario Popayan training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Brian Sinisterra 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
Atletico Nacional 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 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.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
“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
Squad30 Nov 2026
A fracture rules Rafael Garcia out for 24 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Universitario Popayan will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Nicolas 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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Brian Sinisterra was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad23 Nov 2026
31 days out for Rafael Garcia after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Universitario Popayan will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Javier Vargas 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.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Nicolas Moreno 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
Uneasy
Squad16 Nov 2026
A fracture rules Rafael Garcia out for 38 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Universitario Popayan will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad16 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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Brian Sinisterra 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
Uneasy
Squad9 Nov 2026
Rafael Garcia breaks a bone — 45 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 45 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Nicolas 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.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words at Universitario Popayan training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Brian Sinisterra 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
Uneasy
Squad2 Nov 2026
52 days out for Rafael Garcia after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Universitario Popayan will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Words at Universitario Popayan training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nicolas Moreno is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad2 Nov 2026
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad26 Oct 2026
Rafael Garcia breaks a bone — 59 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 59 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market26 Oct 2026
Alfredo Perez 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 Universitario Popayan can pretend not to have heard.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Nicolas Moreno and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Brian Sinisterra was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
“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 Oct 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Francisco Herrera trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad19 Oct 2026
A fracture rules Rafael Garcia out for 66 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Universitario Popayan will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market19 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 Universitario Popayan, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad19 Oct 2026
At 22 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Squad19 Oct 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.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Brian Sinisterra was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market19 Oct 2026
José Ramírez Agudelo arrives at 36 with nothing left to prove and plenty left to pass on. Legs are a young man's currency; knowing where to stand never ages.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Oct 2026
75 days out for Rafael Garcia after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Universitario Popayan will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Javier Vargas 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
At 22 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nicolas Moreno was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market12 Oct 2026
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad5 Oct 2026
Rafael Garcia breaks a bone — 83 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 83 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Francisco Herrera is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Nicolas 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad28 Sep 2026
Rafael Garcia breaks a bone — 90 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 90 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market28 Sep 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Universitario Popayan can pretend not to have heard.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Nicolas Moreno and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad21 Sep 2026
A fracture rules Rafael Garcia out for 98 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Universitario Popayan will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Javier Vargas 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.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words at Universitario Popayan training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nicolas Moreno 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
Uneasy
Squad14 Sep 2026
A fracture rules Rafael Garcia out for 106 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Universitario Popayan will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nicolas Moreno was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Francisco Herrera trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad7 Sep 2026
114 days out for Rafael Garcia after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Universitario Popayan will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Nicolas 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
At 21 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.