Marked for Gustavo Uribe
From our football correspondent
Steady
Boardroom20 Dec 2027
They will talk about this season in this town for a long time. The trophy comes home with the squad, and the route is already agreed.
Market20 Dec 2027
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around La Equidad people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Squad20 Dec 2027
The kind of year that ends with a name being read out in a hall. La Equidad had the benefit of it every week and now have the problem of everybody else knowing.
Squad20 Dec 2027
45 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
The dugout20 Dec 2027
Miguel Cuadrado has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at La Equidad 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 dugout20 Dec 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Juan José Aguilar, and the manager let it.
Market20 Dec 2027
Roberto Vanegas is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at La Equidad has been clear about where Roberto Vanegas stands, which is more than many ever get.
Market20 Dec 2027
The Nicolas Rios talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. La Equidad know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Market20 Dec 2027
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Breider Villalobos may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match1 Nov 2027
73 points and nobody above them. The word is not being said around the ground yet, and it is being thought in every seat.
Match1 Nov 2027
La Equidad finish in position 1
73 points, and the season has a number on it. Whatever it felt like from the inside, this is what it will look like in a book.
Player ratings1 Nov 2027
Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad1 Nov 2027
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.
Market1 Nov 2027
Samuel Cotto is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at La Equidad has been clear about where Samuel Cotto stands, which is more than many ever get.
The dugout1 Nov 2027
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 dugout1 Nov 2027
The manager makes an example of Gustavo Uribe
“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 dugout1 Nov 2027
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
The dugout1 Nov 2027
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match28 Sep 2027
1‑1 against Universidad de Chile, and a performance that will be described to people who were not there for the rest of the season. Miguel Cuadrado was at the centre of the description.
Match4 Oct 2027
69 points and nobody above them. The word is not being said around the ground yet, and it is being thought in every seat.
Market4 Oct 2027
“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.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Pablo Restrepo pulls a muscle — 14 days out
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 14 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Duvan Quintero and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The terraces4 Oct 2027
At 22 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.
Match2 Oct 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings4 Oct 2027
Marked 8.23 — 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.
Squad4 Oct 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Juan Vergara commits to La Equidad for another 3 years.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Squad26 Jul 2027
David Livingston damages knee ligaments — 24 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 24 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.
Match21 Jul 2027
A 2‑0 win over Independiente Medellin, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Player ratings26 Jul 2027
A brace, and Duvan Quintero takes the afternoon — 8.96
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Duvan Quintero provided it, and the 8.96 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Match24 Jul 2027
5 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Player ratings26 Jul 2027
Successful dribbles: 27. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Market26 Jul 2027
“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.
Player ratings26 Jul 2027
Age has not caught Braian Aquino yet — 7.87
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.87 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
The dugout26 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.
Boardroom26 Jul 2027
La Equidad close the window on a squad of their own making
3 in and 10 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad31 May 2027
David Livingston damages knee ligaments — 87 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 87 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.
The dugout31 May 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.
Match29 May 2027
A 1‑0 win over Independiente Medellin, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad31 May 2027
A row about effort at La Equidad
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Pablo Restrepo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings31 May 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.04, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad31 May 2027
Samuel Cotto 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.
Player ratings31 May 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 18 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
The dugout31 May 2027
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Camilo Gonzalez, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
The dugout31 May 2027
Nicolas Rios has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at La Equidad 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.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Squad8 Mar 2027
José Barragán damages knee ligaments — 38 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 38 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.
Match2 Mar 2027
Tigres are out and La Equidad go through, 1‑0 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.
Market8 Mar 2027
Jahir Scott 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 La Equidad can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 23. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The terraces8 Mar 2027
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Alexandro Licona 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.
Match6 Mar 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Nicolas Rios. 1‑0 against Deportes Tolima, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Roberto Vanegas commits to La Equidad for another 3 years.
Squad8 Mar 2027
A row about effort at La Equidad
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Carlos Zambrano was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
A performance of 8.01 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
In brief
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Player ratings
The afternoon belonged to Gustavo Uribe
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Squad
Words exchanged at La Equidad
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad18 Jan 2027
49 days out for Sergio Muriel after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. La Equidad will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market18 Jan 2027
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Juan Muriel had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Juan Muriel and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
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 Miguel Cuadrado is on it.
Market18 Jan 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. La Equidad know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad16 Nov 2026
Sergio Muriel breaks a bone — 120 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 120 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
Gustavo Uribe: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” La Equidad have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Javier Mina 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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Carlos Zambrano 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.
The dugout16 Nov 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.
Squad16 Nov 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 dugout16 Nov 2026
Carlos Ospina gets picked when it counts
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 Ospina is on it.
Market16 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.
Market16 Nov 2026
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Javier Mina’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad9 Nov 2026
Sergio Muriel breaks a bone — 128 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 128 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 25. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Squad9 Nov 2026
A season average of 7.10 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. La Equidad know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Squad9 Nov 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Duvan Quintero and La Equidad agree another 4 years.
Match3 Nov 2026
9 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Duvan Quintero and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Nicolas Rios was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.03. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
No place for Jhon Ibargüen on the big day
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at La Equidad pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
In brief
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The dugout
The manager’s verdict
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The dugout
No hiding place for Gustavo Uribe
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The dugout
Javier Mina has become a man the manager trusts
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad7 Sep 2026
Wilmar Restrepo damages knee ligaments — 26 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 26 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Alexandro Licona has just signed for La Equidad, and for once the answer mattered.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Javier Mina in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at La Equidad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Sep 2026
A row about effort at La Equidad
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sergio Muriel was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
Gustavo Uribe has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at La Equidad 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.
Market7 Sep 2026
The Nicolas Rios story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Nicolas Rios signs something — a contract at La Equidad or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Market7 Sep 2026
Nobody sells a season ticket on a signing like this. Every manager who has been through a bad October wants one anyway, and La Equidad have gone and got theirs early.
Market7 Sep 2026
Nobody sells a season ticket on a signing like this. Every manager who has been through a bad October wants one anyway, and La Equidad have gone and got theirs early.