Marked for David Castillo
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match27 May 2028
Whatever happens, Zulia do not lose
19 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 ratings29 May 2028
Defensive actions: 32, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad29 May 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.
Player ratings29 May 2028
A defender's afternoon for Juan Perdomo
Defensive actions: 26. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad29 May 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 Zulia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match27 May 2028
It finished 1‑0, and it was Arcángel Oliveros’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Zulia.
Player ratings29 May 2028
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.98 on the card, and the Zulia support went home talking about one name.
Squad29 May 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Guillermo Guzmán, and the manager let it.
Squad29 May 2028
4 goals and a season average of 7.22. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match6 May 2028
Zulia cannot stop winning
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.
Market8 May 2028
Victor Machis has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Zulia they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad8 May 2028
Tempers go at Zulia
Nicolas Valencia 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 ratings8 May 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.52, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match6 May 2028
A 2‑1 win over Deportivo Tachira, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad8 May 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to David Castillo, and the manager let it.
Player ratings8 May 2028
A performance of 8.13 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad8 May 2028
The award goes to Arcángel Oliveros, and nobody around here is inclined to argue with the choice.
Boardroom8 May 2028
$3.5M on the table at Zulia
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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
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 Zulia, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad1 May 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.
Match29 Apr 2028
Nobody wants to play Zulia right now
4 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Squad1 May 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 Zulia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match29 Apr 2028
It finished 3‑2, and it was Richard Ferraresi’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Zulia.
Player ratings1 May 2028
Marked 9.24 — 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.
Squad1 May 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 ratings1 May 2028
One lapse, one goal, and ninety minutes of honest work counting for nothing. That is the job at Zulia, and it is a cruel one.
Player ratings1 May 2028
A performance of 8.40 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match25 Mar 2028
Still nobody has beaten Zulia
The unbeaten run reaches 10. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Match25 Mar 2028
The wait goes on for Zulia
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 ratings27 Mar 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.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Tempers go at Zulia
Nicolas Valencia 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.
Squad27 Mar 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 ratings27 Mar 2028
Defensive actions: 19, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad27 Mar 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Fabián Pacheco and Zulia agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad27 Mar 2028
14 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Player ratings27 Mar 2028
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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad21 Feb 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 Zulia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match19 Feb 2028
Three points for Zulia, 2‑1 the final word against Deportivo Lara in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings21 Feb 2028
Marked 8.96 — 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 ratings21 Feb 2028
A performance of 8.67 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad21 Feb 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jose Gonzalez, and the manager let it.
Squad21 Feb 2028
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
Player ratings21 Feb 2028
Successful dribbles: 11. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market21 Feb 2028
The name of David Castillo keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Zulia say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad21 Feb 2028
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces24 Jan 2028
The ground has had enough
“We travel everywhere and we get this.” 7 of the 33 senior players heard it walking off, and the ones who did not hear it were not playing.
Match22 Jan 2028
The wait goes on for Zulia
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.
Market24 Jan 2028
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Market24 Jan 2028
The shirt still fits. Cristian Herrera is back at Zulia, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Market24 Jan 2028
As if he never left: Diego Gonzalez returns
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Diego Gonzalez is a Zulia player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Market24 Jan 2028
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Squad24 Jan 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 Zulia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match22 Jan 2028
Deportivo Tachira left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad24 Jan 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
Steady
Squad10 Jan 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 Zulia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad10 Jan 2028
This league is too small for Juan Perdomo
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. Zulia will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
Squad10 Jan 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Juan Cordova and Zulia agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match22 May 2027
Nowhere to hide for Zulia
0‑3 against Deportivo La Guaira, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
The terraces24 May 2027
The ground has had enough
“We travel everywhere and we get this.” 7 of the 27 senior players heard it walking off, and the ones who did not hear it were not playing.
Squad24 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 Zulia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings24 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad24 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to David Castillo, and the manager let it.
Boardroom24 May 2027
Nobody left the Zulia 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.
Squad24 May 2027
Jose Gonzalez lets one through his hands
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
Player ratings24 May 2027
Shots: 6, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
Player ratings24 May 2027
Shots: 5. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The terraces5 Apr 2027
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 27 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
Squad5 Apr 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.
Market5 Apr 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 Zulia can pretend not to have heard.
Squad5 Apr 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 Zulia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match3 Apr 2027
1‑2 to Atletico Venezuela, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad5 Apr 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 ratings5 Apr 2027
Marked 8.21 — 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 ratings5 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings5 Apr 2027
5.70 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad15 Mar 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” David Castillo commits to Zulia for another 3 years.
Squad15 Mar 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 Zulia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match13 Mar 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Oscar Murillo. 2‑1 against Carabobo, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
A performance of 8.99 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
Marked 8.56 — 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.
Squad15 Mar 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
Crisis
Squad22 Feb 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 Zulia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match20 Feb 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad22 Feb 2027
The medical room confirms 43 days on the sidelines for Diego Savarino, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad25 Jan 2027
Sergio Rosales: 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.” Zulia have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market25 Jan 2027
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Francisco Ferraresi is a Zulia player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Market25 Jan 2027
The shirt still fits. Sergio Cordova is back at Zulia, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Market25 Jan 2027
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Market25 Jan 2027
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Tempers go at Zulia
Jose Gonzalez 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.
Squad25 Jan 2027
The manager makes an example of David Castillo
“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.
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
Marked 8.24 — 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market28 Dec 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 Zulia can pretend not to have heard.
Squad28 Dec 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 Zulia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Dec 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Richard Ramirez and Zulia agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad19 Oct 2026
Tempers go at Zulia
Jose Gonzalez 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.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Sergio Rosales 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.
Squad19 Oct 2026
The word out of the training ground is that he has been the sharpest man there all week. It is the quietest story a paper carries and it usually runs the week before somebody's run in the side begins.