Marked for Junior Rincon
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad19 Jul 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.
Player ratings19 Jul 2027
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.
Squad19 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 Atletico Venezuela this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings19 Jul 2027
Marked 8.22 — 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.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Words at Atletico Venezuela training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jesús Ceballos 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.
Squad19 Jul 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Junior Rincon, and the manager let it.
Boardroom19 Jul 2027
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Atletico Venezuela now.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market28 Jun 2027
$170.0K is a serious amount of money and it does not play centre-forward. Everybody in the dressing room knows who used to be looked at when it went wrong.
Match26 Jun 2027
The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Atletico Venezuela are no longer polite ones.
Match26 Jun 2027
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 7 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Market28 Jun 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 The request is on a desk at Atletico Venezuela, and it is not being withdrawn.
The terraces28 Jun 2027
The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Daniel Casseres was one of the reasons people came, and $170.0K does not replace that by itself.
Player ratings28 Jun 2027
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad28 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 Atletico Venezuela this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match26 Jun 2027
0‑1 to Deportivo Tachira, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Words at Atletico Venezuela training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Junior Rincon 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
Player ratings14 Jun 2027
Successful dribbles: 46. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market14 Jun 2027
The offer from Deportivo Tachira for Cristian Ramirez 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.
Squad14 Jun 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Atletico Venezuela may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Match12 Jun 2027
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Atletico Venezuela has to find a result from somewhere.
Match12 Jun 2027
5 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.
Market14 Jun 2027
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Daniel Casseres reports back to Atletico Venezuela with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
Match12 Jun 2027
10 matches unbeaten here. Every visiting manager is asked about it in the week before, which is precisely why it keeps going.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Jose Ferraresi 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.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Words at Atletico Venezuela training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marcos Pedro 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
Player ratings7 Jun 2027
Successful dribbles: 34. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market7 Jun 2027
The offer from Deportivo Tachira for Matías Bruno 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.
Market7 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 Atletico Venezuela can pretend not to have heard.
Match5 Jun 2027
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Atletico Venezuela has to find a result from somewhere.
Match5 Jun 2027
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.
Squad7 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 Atletico Venezuela this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Junior Rincon 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.
Squad7 Jun 2027
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Alejandro 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
The manager makes an example of Jonny Milla
“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 ratings17 May 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.
Squad17 May 2027
Jose Ferraresi 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.
Match15 May 2027
Estudiantes de Caracas left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad17 May 2027
Words at Atletico Venezuela training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Junior Rincon 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.
Squad17 May 2027
The manager makes an example of Sergio Savarino
“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.
Loan watch17 May 2027
“I watch every Atletico Venezuela game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Deportivo Lara runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 33. 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 Atletico Venezuela this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom26 Apr 2027
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Atletico Venezuela now.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match27 Mar 2027
9 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Atletico Venezuela has to find a result from somewhere.
Player ratings29 Mar 2027
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.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Jose Ferraresi 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.
Boardroom29 Mar 2027
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
The terraces29 Mar 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.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Jesús Ceballos 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
Player ratings1 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 39. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Victor Moreno decides it from twelve yards
2 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.
Match24 Feb 2027
Out, 0‑0 to Deportivo Lara, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
Match27 Feb 2027
5 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.
Match27 Feb 2027
5 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Atletico Venezuela can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Jose Ferraresi 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.
Boardroom1 Mar 2027
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
The terraces1 Mar 2027
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 18-year-old it feels ownership of. Victor Moreno 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.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Words at Atletico Venezuela training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Junior Rincon 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
Crisis
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 26. 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
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Atletico Venezuela this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market8 Feb 2027
Matías Bruno is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Atletico Venezuela has been clear about where Matías Bruno stands, which is more than many ever get.
Match6 Feb 2027
Caracas left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Junior Rincon 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.
Squad8 Feb 2027
The young player of the month award goes to a 21-year-old at Atletico Venezuela who has looked like the finished article for four weekends running. The next four are the ones that decide whether he is.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad7 Dec 2026
Jose Ferraresi 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
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Miguel Otero commits to Atletico Venezuela for another 2 years.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Words at Atletico Venezuela training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Junior Rincon 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
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 Atletico Venezuela this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Junior Rincon 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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Victor Moreno 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 Atletico Venezuela, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 42. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Juan Rosales, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 8.23
A mark of 8.23 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.
Market3 Aug 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
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 Atletico Venezuela this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The terraces3 Aug 2026
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.