Marked for Sergio Rincon
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad22 Jan 2029
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad22 Jan 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Llaneros may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market22 Jan 2029
Sergio Rincon has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Llaneros they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Market22 Jan 2029
The shirt still fits. David Herrera is back at Llaneros, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Market22 Jan 2029
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Francisco Ramirez is a Llaneros player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Market22 Jan 2029
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Francisco Gonzalez is a Llaneros player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Squad22 Jan 2029
Juan Soteldo 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 ratings22 Jan 2029
Defensive actions: 22, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Match20 Jan 2029
Three points for Llaneros, 1‑0 the final word against Carabobo in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad8 Jan 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” David Murillo and Llaneros agree another 3 years.
Squad8 Jan 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Llaneros this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad8 Jan 2029
“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.
Market8 Jan 2029
Hugo Lopez is 17, and Llaneros have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
Squad8 Jan 2029
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Llaneros will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Market8 Jan 2029
Trujillanos are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Llaneros will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market25 Dec 2028
“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 Llaneros, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market25 Dec 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Llaneros is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad25 Dec 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Llaneros this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad25 Dec 2028
27 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad25 Dec 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Rafael Rincon and Llaneros agree another 4 years.
Market25 Dec 2028
The name of Daniel Martinez keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Llaneros say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market18 Dec 2028
“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.
Squad18 Dec 2028
Enderson Torrealba 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.
Market18 Dec 2028
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Llaneros will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Market18 Dec 2028
The name of David Murillo keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Llaneros say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad18 Dec 2028
The move was somebody else's story. What it left behind was a dressing-room stall nobody has taken and a player who keeps looking at it.
Market18 Dec 2028
The stand keeps filling up for Miguel Savarino
Somebody from Caracas has seen every one of Miguel Savarino’s last few games. Nobody travels that far that often out of curiosity, and everybody at Llaneros knows it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad11 Dec 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Llaneros this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad11 Dec 2028
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Llaneros know it.
Squad11 Dec 2028
“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.
Squad11 Dec 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Matías Bogado, and the manager let it.
Market11 Dec 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Llaneros know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad13 Nov 2028
“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.
Squad13 Nov 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Llaneros this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad13 Nov 2028
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad2 Oct 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Llaneros this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad2 Oct 2028
Richard Iriarte 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.
Squad2 Oct 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Sergio Rincon, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match29 Jul 2028
The wait goes on for Llaneros
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.
Market31 Jul 2028
“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.
Market31 Jul 2028
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Sergio Rincon reports back to Llaneros with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
Squad31 Jul 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Llaneros this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad31 Jul 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Enderson Torrealba, and the manager let it.
Player ratings31 Jul 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.12, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad31 Jul 2028
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Llaneros know it.
Market31 Jul 2028
He is 19, and the scouting reports agree on the only line that matters: the ceiling. Signings like this are lottery tickets written by professionals.
Squad31 Jul 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Rafael Medina commits to Llaneros for another 3 years.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings24 Jul 2028
A defender's afternoon for David Murillo
Defensive actions: 33. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Market24 Jul 2028
“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.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Gabriel Martinez: 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.” Llaneros have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Player ratings24 Jul 2028
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 25 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Match22 Jul 2028
The wait goes on for Llaneros
4 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.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Enderson Torrealba 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.
Squad24 Jul 2028
“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.
Player ratings24 Jul 2028
Successful dribbles: 14. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad3 Jul 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market3 Jul 2028
“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 Llaneros, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings3 Jul 2028
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 25 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad3 Jul 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Llaneros this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings3 Jul 2028
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 20 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad3 Jul 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Enderson Torrealba, and the manager let it.
Squad3 Jul 2028
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Héctor Manrique will call it something else in private.
Loan watch3 Jul 2028
Francisco Arango is tired of being somebody else's player
“Another season, another badge, another dressing room to win over. I would like one pre-season at Llaneros where somebody actually looks at me.” He belongs to Estudiantes de Caracas until the spell ends; the argument is with the club that owns him.
Market3 Jul 2028
Llaneros have let the market know Christian Camarillo can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market1 May 2028
“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 Llaneros, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad1 May 2028
Enderson Torrealba 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.
Squad1 May 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Enderson Torrealba, and the manager let it.
Player ratings1 May 2028
Defensive actions: 16, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings1 May 2028
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 15 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings1 May 2028
Successful dribbles: 14. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match29 Apr 2028
Point won or two lost for Llaneros?
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Portuguesa? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
Market1 May 2028
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Juan Soteldo’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Player ratings1 May 2028
A mark of 5.60 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad21 Feb 2028
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Enderson Torrealba 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.
Match19 Feb 2028
Three points for Llaneros, 2‑1 the final word against Caracas in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings21 Feb 2028
Marked 8.67 — 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.
Squad21 Feb 2028
“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.
Player ratings21 Feb 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.12, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings21 Feb 2028
A performance of 8.14 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad21 Feb 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Sergio Rincon and Llaneros agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Loan watch21 Feb 2028
“I did not go to Estudiantes de Caracas to sit and watch. I want to come back to Llaneros and fight for my place.” 1 appearances in 9 matches say the rest.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market27 Dec 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 Llaneros can pretend not to have heard.
Squad27 Dec 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 Llaneros this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad27 Dec 2027
The medical room confirms 18 days on the sidelines for Sergio Castillo, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad27 Dec 2027
The manager makes an example of Gabriel Moreno
“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.
Market27 Dec 2027
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Jhonesy Vásquez has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Llaneros.
Market27 Dec 2027
At 33, he has seen every situation this season can produce, twice. The legs will be managed; the head is the purchase.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad1 Nov 2027
Miguel Savarino 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.
Squad1 Nov 2027
“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.
Market1 Nov 2027
The Luis Ruíz story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Luis Ruíz signs something — a contract at Llaneros or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad25 Oct 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Llaneros may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad25 Oct 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 Llaneros this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad25 Oct 2027
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad4 Oct 2027
Gabriel 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.
Loan watch4 Oct 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Llaneros, and 0 appearances in 39 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad4 Oct 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Sergio Rincon, and the manager let it.
Market4 Oct 2027
The Luis Ruíz story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Luis Ruíz signs something — a contract at Llaneros or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Chris Martínez 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.
Market4 Oct 2027
Llaneros have made Gabriel Moreno available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market13 Sep 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.
Squad13 Sep 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 Llaneros this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad13 Sep 2027
The manager makes an example of David Murillo
“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
Match7 Aug 2027
The wait goes on for Llaneros
10 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.
Market9 Aug 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 Llaneros can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings9 Aug 2027
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match7 Aug 2027
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad9 Aug 2027
“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.
Loan watch9 Aug 2027
“I did not go to Mineros de Guayana to sit and watch. I want to come back to Llaneros and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 31 matches say the rest.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Matías Bogado 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 Aug 2027
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Llaneros pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Market9 Aug 2027
The Luis Ruíz story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Luis Ruíz signs something — a contract at Llaneros or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match10 Jul 2027
6 matches without a win for Llaneros
The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Llaneros are no longer polite ones.
Market12 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.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Miguel Savarino 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.
Match10 Jul 2027
Estudiantes de Merida left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings12 Jul 2027
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad12 Jul 2027
“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.
Player ratings12 Jul 2027
There was no pressure on him and nowhere he had to be. Llaneros lost a goal to a decision that took half a second and will be discussed all week.
Market12 Jul 2027
Trujillanos are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Llaneros will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Market12 Jul 2027
The Luis Ruíz story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Luis Ruíz signs something — a contract at Llaneros or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market10 May 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 Llaneros, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad10 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.
Squad10 May 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 Llaneros this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match8 May 2027
Carabobo left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad10 May 2027
“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.
Squad10 May 2027
38 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.