Marked for Rafael Garcia
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad28 Jul 2036
Santiago Cerabona 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 ratings28 Jul 2036
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match26 Jul 2036
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad28 Jul 2036
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.
Squad28 Jul 2036
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
Market28 Jul 2036
The name of Gael Figueroa keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Los Andes say nothing, which says plenty.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings21 Jul 2036
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.13, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad21 Jul 2036
A season average of 7.42 with 8 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Match19 Jul 2036
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Gael Figueroa. 2‑1 against Madryn, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings21 Jul 2036
Ninety minutes of Gael Figueroa at his very best
Marked 8.63. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Los Andes.
Player ratings21 Jul 2036
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad21 Jul 2036
“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
Upbeat
Squad16 Jun 2036
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad16 Jun 2036
José Luis Costa: 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.” Los Andes have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad16 Jun 2036
Santiago Cerabona 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 ratings16 Jun 2036
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.16, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match14 Jun 2036
A 2‑1 win over Colegiales, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad16 Jun 2036
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Gael Figueroa, and the manager let it.
Player ratings16 Jun 2036
Ninety minutes of Santiago Cerabona at his very best
Marked 8.90. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Los Andes.
Match14 Jun 2036
There is a particular helplessness in conceding 2 times before the twentieth minute. Colegiales tried to reorganise, Los Andes did not allow it, and the result was written long before it was confirmed.
Market16 Jun 2036
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Los Andes know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad2 Jun 2036
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.
Squad2 Jun 2036
“The easiest signature of my career.” Alan Villarruel and Los Andes agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Match31 May 2036
0‑1 to Racing, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad2 Jun 2036
The manager makes an example of Alan Villarruel
“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.
Boardroom2 Jun 2036
$223.9K on the table at Los Andes
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
Squad2 Jun 2036
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Santiago Cerabona is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
Player ratings2 Jun 2036
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.
The terraces2 Jun 2036
Everybody has an opinion about Gael Figueroa
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
Player ratings2 Jun 2036
14 attempts, none of them in. He got into the right places all afternoon, which is the hard part, and did the easy part badly — and that is the version of a bad day a manager can live with.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match24 May 2036
Maipú will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Los Andes were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Squad26 May 2036
Santiago Cerabona 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 ratings26 May 2036
Marked 9.23 — 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.
Player ratings26 May 2036
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.92, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad26 May 2036
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Rafael Garcia and Los Andes agree another 2 years.
Player ratings26 May 2036
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad14 Apr 2036
A fracture rules Rafael Garcia out for 20 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Los Andes will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Player ratings14 Apr 2036
Defensive actions: 24, 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 ratings14 Apr 2036
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.
Match12 Apr 2036
Los Andes cannot find the net
3 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.
Squad14 Apr 2036
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.
Match12 Apr 2036
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Gimnasia y Esgrima defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad7 Apr 2036
A fracture rules Rafael Garcia out for 27 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Los Andes will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Player ratings7 Apr 2036
Successful dribbles: 23. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad7 Apr 2036
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Los Andes this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match5 Apr 2036
0‑2 to Tristán Suárez, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad7 Apr 2036
The manager makes an example of Alan Villarruel
“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.
Squad7 Apr 2036
Andrés Peralta named in the team of the month
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Andrés Peralta is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad31 Mar 2036
A fracture rules Rafael Garcia out for 34 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Los Andes will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad31 Mar 2036
Santiago Cerabona 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 Mar 2036
Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad24 Mar 2036
A fracture rules Rafael Garcia out for 41 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Los Andes will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad24 Mar 2036
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Los Andes this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Mar 2036
A muscle injury sidelines Andrés Peralta for 15 days
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Los Andes will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Player ratings24 Mar 2036
Marked 9.39 — 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.
Player ratings24 Mar 2036
Marked 9.20 — 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.
The terraces24 Mar 2036
At 19 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.
Match22 Mar 2036
Three points for Los Andes, 2‑0 the final word against Madryn in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings24 Mar 2036
16 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.
Squad24 Mar 2036
Andrés Peralta has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Los Andes 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
Crisis
Squad17 Mar 2036
A fracture rules Rafael Garcia out for 48 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Los Andes will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match15 Mar 2036
The wait goes on for Los Andes
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.
Player ratings17 Mar 2036
Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad17 Mar 2036
Santiago Cerabona 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 Mar 2036
0‑1 to Güemes, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad17 Mar 2036
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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match8 Mar 2036
1‑5 to Atlético Tucumán, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Squad10 Mar 2036
A fracture rules Rafael Garcia out for 55 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Los Andes will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The terraces10 Mar 2036
The boos come down from three sides
“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 6 of the 28 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
Match8 Mar 2036
No end in sight to Los Andes's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Los Andes has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad10 Mar 2036
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Los Andes this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match8 Mar 2036
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Los Andes and Atlético Tucumán, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Player ratings10 Mar 2036
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings10 Mar 2036
A performance of 8.76 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Boardroom10 Mar 2036
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match1 Mar 2036
Chastening afternoon for Los Andes
A 1‑4 beating by Quilmes was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Squad3 Mar 2036
A fracture rules Rafael Garcia out for 62 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Los Andes will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad3 Mar 2036
There were 7 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.
Player ratings3 Mar 2036
Successful dribbles: 25. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad3 Mar 2036
Santiago Cerabona 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.
Boardroom3 Mar 2036
Nobody left the Los Andes dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad25 Feb 2036
A fracture rules Rafael Garcia out for 69 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Los Andes will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Player ratings25 Feb 2036
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad25 Feb 2036
“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 ratings25 Feb 2036
14 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
Player ratings25 Feb 2036
Defensive actions: 14. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad25 Feb 2036
Andrés Peralta has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Los Andes 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
Steady
Squad18 Feb 2036
A fracture rules Rafael Garcia out for 76 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Los Andes will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad18 Feb 2036
Santiago Cerabona 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.
The terraces18 Feb 2036
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 19-year-old it feels ownership of. Emiliano Navarro 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.
Player ratings18 Feb 2036
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.
Squad18 Feb 2036
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.
Squad18 Feb 2036
“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
Upbeat
Squad11 Feb 2036
A fracture rules Rafael Garcia out for 83 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Los Andes will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad11 Feb 2036
3 goals in one game. The first was taken well, the second was taken greedily, and by the third the crowd were simply waiting for him to get the ball.
Squad11 Feb 2036
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Los Andes this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match9 Feb 2036
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Los Andes and Patronato, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Player ratings11 Feb 2036
Ninety minutes of Santiago Cerabona at his very best
Marked 9.81. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Los Andes.
Match9 Feb 2036
Three points for Los Andes, 4‑2 the final word against Patronato in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad11 Feb 2036
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Diego Romero commits to Los Andes for another 3 years.
Player ratings11 Feb 2036
Marked 8.35 — 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.
Player ratings11 Feb 2036
Successful dribbles: 12. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match2 Feb 2036
Chastening afternoon for Los Andes
A 2‑5 beating by Racing was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Squad4 Feb 2036
A fracture rules Rafael Garcia out for 90 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Los Andes will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Player ratings4 Feb 2036
Two goals and a mark of 8.28 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The terraces4 Feb 2036
The ground has had enough
“We travel everywhere and we get this.” 7 of the 29 senior players heard it walking off, and the ones who did not hear it were not playing.
Player ratings4 Feb 2036
Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Boardroom4 Feb 2036
A new deal for the man in the dugout, and the clearest thing a board can say without calling a press conference about it. Stability is cheap to promise and expensive to deliver.
Squad4 Feb 2036
Santiago Cerabona 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.
Squad4 Feb 2036
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Roberto Aguirre and Los Andes agree another 4 years.
Match2 Feb 2036
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 7 goals between Los Andes and Racing, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad28 Jan 2036
A fracture rules Rafael Garcia out for 97 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Los Andes will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad28 Jan 2036
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Los Andes this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Jan 2036
28 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad21 Jan 2036
A knee injury of the worst kind for Emiliano Núñez
20 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Los Andes lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad21 Jan 2036
A fracture rules Rafael Garcia out for 104 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Los Andes will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad21 Jan 2036
Santiago Cerabona 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad14 Jan 2036
A knee injury of the worst kind for Emiliano Núñez
27 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Los Andes lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad14 Jan 2036
A fracture rules Rafael Garcia out for 111 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Los Andes will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad14 Jan 2036
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Los Andes this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market25 Jun 2035
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Los Andes have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad25 Jun 2035
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Los Andes may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market25 Jun 2035
Coco has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Los Andes they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Player ratings25 Jun 2035
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad25 Jun 2035
“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.
Match23 Jun 2035
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad25 Jun 2035
Santiago Cerabona has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Los Andes 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.
Squad25 Jun 2035
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad28 May 2035
A knee injury of the worst kind for Fernando Acosta
20 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Los Andes lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match26 May 2035
3‑0, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.
Player ratings28 May 2035
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.94, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Squad28 May 2035
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Los Andes this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match26 May 2035
Whatever happens, Los Andes do not lose
6 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Player ratings28 May 2035
Ninety minutes of Gael Figueroa at his very best
Marked 9.30. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Los Andes.
Player ratings28 May 2035
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings28 May 2035
Defensive actions: 18. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad28 May 2035
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Rafael Garcia and Los Andes agree another 2 years.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings30 Apr 2035
A brace, and Santiago Cerabona takes the afternoon — 9.00
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Santiago Cerabona provided it, and the 9.00 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Squad30 Apr 2035
“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 ratings30 Apr 2035
Defensive actions: 24. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad30 Apr 2035
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Los Andes this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings30 Apr 2035
Marked 8.38 — 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.
Squad30 Apr 2035
“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 ratings30 Apr 2035
Successful dribbles: 14. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad30 Apr 2035
One weekend, judged against everybody else's. Santiago Cerabona has come out on top of it, and for most footballers a weekly award is the only silverware a career ever produces.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match14 Apr 2035
4 matches without a win for Los Andes
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Los Andes are no longer polite ones.
Squad16 Apr 2035
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Los Andes this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The terraces16 Apr 2035
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Roberto Aguirre 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.
Player ratings16 Apr 2035
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings16 Apr 2035
A mark of 7.62, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
Squad16 Apr 2035
Santiago Cerabona has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Los Andes 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.
Squad16 Apr 2035
“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.
Match14 Apr 2035
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Gimnasia y Esgrima will be the happier side with the point.
Market16 Apr 2035
The name of Gonzalo Aquilino keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Los Andes say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad22 Jan 2035
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Los Andes this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad22 Jan 2035
“The easiest signature of my career.” Fernando Acosta and Los Andes agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad22 Jan 2035
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Rafael Garcia, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market15 Jan 2035
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Los Andes is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Market15 Jan 2035
The deal that would have taken Liam González to Temperley has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Los Andes with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
Squad15 Jan 2035
Santiago Cerabona 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.
Squad15 Jan 2035
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” José Luis Costa commits to Los Andes for another 3 years.
Squad15 Jan 2035
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.
Market15 Jan 2035
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Los Andes know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.