The Union Espanola Gazette
Player ratings15 Feb 2027
A brace, and Andrés Vilches takes the afternoon — 8.75
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Andrés Vilches provided it, and the 8.75 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
Ulises Ojeda says Union Espanola went back on their word
“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.
Squad15 Feb 2027
A one-man rearguard from Martín Parra
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.
Market15 Feb 2027
Sebastián Pereira has his eye on Europe
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Union Espanola can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Tempers go at Union Espanola
Angelo Araos 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.
Boardroom15 Feb 2027
Graduation day at Union Espanola
4 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Pablo Aránguiz falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Market15 Feb 2027
One of our own: Luis Diaz joins the Union Espanola first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Luis Diaz is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market15 Feb 2027
One of our own: Marcelo Aranguiz joins the Union Espanola first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Marcelo Aranguiz is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
In brief
- Market Union Espanola promote Erick Aranguiz from within
- Match Union Espanola refuse to lose to Iquique
- Squad 7 new faces, and Union Espanola are still learning each other