Marked for Alejandro Arango
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad31 Aug 2026
Rafael Otero 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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Llaneros
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Edwar Bracho was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
Rafael 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.
Market31 Aug 2026
The name of Sergio Otero keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Llaneros say nothing, which says plenty.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Miguel Castillo has written the date down.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
The manager comes out for Oscar Moreno
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Oscar Moreno has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market10 Aug 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 Llaneros can pretend not to have heard.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Miguel Martinez commits to Llaneros for another 4 years.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Gabriel 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.
Squad10 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Llaneros
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Miguel Martinez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout10 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Sergio Otero
“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.
Match8 Aug 2026
It needed Miguel Martinez to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Aragua, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
The dugout10 Aug 2026
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
The dugout10 Aug 2026
Oscar Moreno 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.