Marked for Darwin Martinez
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match3 Jul 2027
No end in sight to Albion's wait for a win
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Albion has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad5 Jul 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 Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings5 Jul 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.
Squad5 Jul 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Matías de los Santos and Albion agree another 2 years.
Player ratings5 Jul 2027
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.
Player ratings5 Jul 2027
A mark of 7.74, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
Squad5 Jul 2027
The manager makes an example of Danilo Lerda
“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 ratings5 Jul 2027
Shots: 11, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Santiago Costa knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Albion, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings14 Jun 2027
Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Tempers go at Albion
Hernán Toledo 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.
Market14 Jun 2027
Albion get their man
The chase for Washington Silva ended with $92.0K changing hands and Cerrito out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Market14 Jun 2027
Francisco Couture has left for Rentistas in a $150.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Squad14 Jun 2027
The manager makes an example of Álvaro López
“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.
Match12 Jun 2027
Tacuarembo left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Boardroom14 Jun 2027
Wages eat 109% of everything Albion earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Player ratings14 Jun 2027
Ten men and a goalkeeper behind him, and it still finished in the net. He knew before anybody told him, and nobody at Albion needed to.
Player ratings14 Jun 2027
The one thing Álvaro López could not do
Shots: 9, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad7 Jun 2027
Fede Varela 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 Floriana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom7 Jun 2027
Floriana release $69.0K for the manager
The board have put money on the table rather than an encouraging word. What happens to it now is somebody else's problem, and somebody else's job.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Florent Hajdini 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.
Squad7 Jun 2027
The manager makes an example of Myles Beerman
“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.
Market7 Jun 2027
Floriana bring in an old head
Darwin Martinez is 36 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
Market7 Jun 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Floriana know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad31 May 2027
Bruno Varela 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.
Squad31 May 2027
The manager makes an example of Aboubacar Bah
“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.
Squad31 May 2027
Bassam Hazazi has had enough of the bench
“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 Al-Hazem will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Market31 May 2027
Al-Hazem bring in an old head
Mutaz Gharawi is 33 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
Market31 May 2027
At 36, he has seen every situation this season can produce, twice. The legs will be managed; the head is the purchase.
Market31 May 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Abdelmounaim Boutouil’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market24 May 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.
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 Orel this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom24 May 2027
Orel counting the cost
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Orel now.
Market24 May 2027
At 36, he has seen every situation this season can produce, twice. The legs will be managed; the head is the purchase.
Market24 May 2027
The name of Vadim Averkiev keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Orel say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad24 May 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Andrey Yakushin trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings17 May 2027
Defensive actions: 24. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad17 May 2027
Tempers go at Lida
Santiago Palacios 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 ratings17 May 2027
Defensive actions: 21. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Boardroom17 May 2027
Wages eat 143% of everything Lida earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Match15 May 2027
Molodechno made Lida work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad17 May 2027
The manager makes an example of Artem Salygo
“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 ratings17 May 2027
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.67 on the card, and the Lida support went home talking about one name.
Player ratings17 May 2027
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.
Market17 May 2027
Lida bring in an old head
Darwin Martinez is 36 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match8 May 2027
No end in sight to Lida's wait for a win
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Lida has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad10 May 2027
Tempers go at Lida
Raúl Quiroga 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.
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.
Player ratings10 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.
Player ratings10 May 2027
Marked 7.44 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Lida had the best player on the pitch.
Player ratings10 May 2027
Defensive actions: 14. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings10 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 13. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market10 May 2027
At 36, he has seen every situation this season can produce, twice. The legs will be managed; the head is the purchase.
Match8 May 2027
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Osipovichi came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market3 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 Tammeka, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad3 May 2027
Asion Daja 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 Tammeka this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings3 May 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.
Match1 May 2027
Tammeka get the job done against Parnu
A 2‑1 win over Parnu, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings3 May 2027
Marked 8.36 — 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.
Squad3 May 2027
Bilal Şeflek gets it from the manager
“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.
Market3 May 2027
“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.
Squad3 May 2027
Tammeka will explain it as a decision about the team, and it may well be one. A dressing room has never once read it that way.
Market3 May 2027
Tammeka bring in an old head
Darwin Martinez is 36 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match24 Apr 2027
4 matches without a win for Lida
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Lida are no longer polite ones.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Tempers go at Lida
Raúl Quiroga 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.
Squad26 Apr 2027
58 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad26 Apr 2027
The manager makes an example of Ivan Yerokhin
“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 ratings26 Apr 2027
A performance of 8.06 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad26 Apr 2027
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Lida are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Match24 Apr 2027
Lida and Slonim take a point apiece
It finished 2‑2, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 10. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market26 Apr 2027
Contract settled, hands shaken, no fee changing hands. Tadas Jankauskas leaves Lida the quiet way, and the wage bill breathes a little easier.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad29 Mar 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Lida may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Tempers go at Lida
Santiago Palacios 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.
Squad29 Mar 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.
Match27 Mar 2027
Ostrovets left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad29 Mar 2027
“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.
Market29 Mar 2027
Lida bring in an old head
Darwin Martinez is 36 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market22 Mar 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 Orel, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market22 Mar 2027
Walisson Nem has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Orel they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Match22 Mar 2027
Orel up to position 3
42 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Magomed Musaev: 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.” Orel have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad22 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 Orel this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom22 Mar 2027
Wages eat 168% of everything Orel earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Loan watch22 Mar 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 Orel, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
Market22 Mar 2027
Orel bring in an old head
Darwin Martinez is 36 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
Market22 Mar 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Roman Kopylov signs something — a contract at Orel or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market15 Mar 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 Atletico Venezuela, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Yeferson Rondon 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.
Match13 Mar 2027
Deportivo Tachira left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
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.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.50, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad15 Mar 2027
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Yeferson Rondon knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
One lapse, one goal, and ninety minutes of honest work counting for nothing. That is the job at Atletico Venezuela, and it is a cruel one.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
Shots: 8, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
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.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Brian Machuca 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.
Market25 Jan 2027
As if he never left: Junior Rondon returns
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Junior Rondon is a Atletico Venezuela player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
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
The shirt still fits. Salomon Murillo is back at Atletico Venezuela, 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.
Player ratings25 Jan 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.
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.94, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
Defensive actions: 20, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market28 Dec 2026
“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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Brian Machuca 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
Crisis
Market10 Aug 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 Atletico Venezuela can pretend not to have heard.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
The terraces10 Aug 2026
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 26 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Yeferson Rondon and Atletico Venezuela agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Yeferson Rondon 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 ratings10 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad10 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of José Navarro
“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.
Match8 Aug 2026
Portuguesa left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
5.58 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.