Marked for Darwin Herrera
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match30 Jan 2027
The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Estudiantes de Caracas are no longer polite ones.
Player ratings1 Feb 2027
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.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Joaquín Gho 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 Estudiantes de Caracas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Feb 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.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
Match30 Jan 2027
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Atletico Venezuela? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market11 Jan 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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Joaquín Gho 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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Junior Osorio, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad7 Sep 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 Estudiantes de Caracas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Sep 2026
The captaincy goes to Rafael Cordova. It is not a job that wins matches, but a dressing room always notices who is given it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market3 Aug 2026
Victor Rondon hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Estudiantes de Caracas can pretend not to have heard.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Roberto Otero and Estudiantes de Caracas agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad3 Aug 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 Estudiantes de Caracas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match1 Aug 2026
Portuguesa left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Marked 8.22 — 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 ratings3 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad3 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Roberto Osorio
“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.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Victor Martinez 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.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
5.39 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.