Marked for Javier Duque
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market9 Nov 2026
Carlos Romaña 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 Atletico Bucaramanga can pretend not to have heard.
Squad9 Nov 2026
José Ortiz and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of José Ortiz
“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.
Market9 Nov 2026
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Atletico Bucaramanga has been clear about where Fredy Hinestroza stands, which is more than many ever get.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
Luciano Pons has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Atletico Bucaramanga 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.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
Israel Alba 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 Atletico Bucaramanga, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market9 Nov 2026
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Aldair Zárate signs something — a contract at Atletico Bucaramanga or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
Squad9 Nov 2026
A call-up flatters the player and the club that produced him in the same breath. Atletico Bucaramanga would like him back in one piece and know they will not be consulted.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad19 Oct 2026
The knee: Javier Duque out for 20 days
20 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Atletico Bucaramanga lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Fabián Sambueza, and the manager let it.
Match17 Oct 2026
Deportivo Pasto left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
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.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
Aldair Gutiérrez has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Atletico Bucaramanga 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.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
Somebody else is better right now than Fredy Hinestroza
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
Looking ahead19 Oct 2026
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Union Magdalena in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Kevin Londoño wants to know why he earns less
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and Atletico Bucaramanga have no good answer.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad12 Oct 2026
The knee: Javier Duque out for 28 days
28 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Atletico Bucaramanga lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market12 Oct 2026
The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.
Squad12 Oct 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Félix Charrupí and Atletico Bucaramanga agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Everybody at Atletico Bucaramanga saw it before anybody said it, which is how this always goes. At 36 the decline is real and measurable — 3 points — and the only question left is how the club handles somebody it owes a great deal to.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
“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.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
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.
Looking ahead12 Oct 2026
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Deportivo Pasto in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Fabián Sambueza has written the date down.
Squad12 Oct 2026
A call-up flatters the player and the club that produced him in the same breath. Atletico Bucaramanga would like him back in one piece and know they will not be consulted.