Marked for Daniel Arango
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words exchanged at Caracas
Luis Del Pino Mago 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.
Squad9 Nov 2026
14 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
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.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
Sergio Román 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 Caracas, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market9 Nov 2026
The Rafael Arace story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Rafael Arace signs something — a contract at Caracas or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Squad9 Nov 2026
A window away with the national side, and a shirt at Caracas that briefly doubles as an advertisement. A call-up flatters the player and the club that built him in the same breath.
Squad9 Nov 2026
A new face in his position and a shirt he thought he owned suddenly up for discussion. Caracas have promised nothing, which is what clubs promise at this stage.
Market9 Nov 2026
“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.
Market9 Nov 2026
The best deals are the ones the accountants never notice. José Luis García arrives at Caracas with his wages the only cost and something to prove the only clause.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad12 Oct 2026
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Alejandro Villarreal is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Words exchanged at Caracas
Luis Del Pino Mago 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.
Squad12 Oct 2026
The medical room confirms 42 days on the sidelines for Daniel Arango, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad12 Oct 2026
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
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.
Market12 Oct 2026
“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.
Market12 Oct 2026
The Rafael Arace story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Rafael Arace signs something — a contract at Caracas or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout12 Oct 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.
Market12 Oct 2026
Caracas shop where it costs nothing
Ángel Gillard signs, and the fee column stays empty. Deals like this look small in July and clever by March — or they are never mentioned again.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad10 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 Caracas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom10 Aug 2026
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Yohan Cumaná has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Caracas have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
Market10 Aug 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Miguel Castillo has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Daniel Arango has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market10 Aug 2026
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Juan Murillo is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market10 Aug 2026
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Miguel Machis is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Eduardo Fereira and Caracas agree another 3 years.
Squad10 Aug 2026
This league is too small for Rafael Arace
He is doing things on a Saturday afternoon that nobody around him can answer, which is flattering for about one season and a problem after that. Caracas will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at Caracas that is a harder question to answer.