Marked for Marcelo Coates
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market14 May 2029
Mateo Faure has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Colón they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad14 May 2029
Tempers go at Colón
Nicolás Talpone 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.
Match12 May 2029
1‑3 to Chacarita Juniors, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad14 May 2029
A row about effort at Colón
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Renzo Sastre was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout14 May 2029
“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 dugout14 May 2029
This is not rotation. Marcelo Coates has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Colón is pretending otherwise.
Boardroom14 May 2029
Wages swallow 128% of the Colón income
Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.
The dugout14 May 2029
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Tomás Ríos after 1‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout14 May 2029
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market16 Apr 2029
Mateo Faure has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Colón they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Match14 Apr 2029
No end in sight to Colón's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Colón has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad16 Apr 2029
Tempers go at Colón
Nicolás Talpone 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.
Squad16 Apr 2029
Words at Colón training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Renzo Sastre is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Boardroom16 Apr 2029
Wages swallow 151% of the Colón income
Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.
The dugout16 Apr 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Luca Campagnaro, and the manager let it.
Match14 Apr 2029
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout16 Apr 2029
This is not rotation. Marcelo Coates has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Colón is pretending otherwise.
Player ratings16 Apr 2029
Mateo Faure beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 17. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad2 Apr 2029
A falling-out at Colón
Nicolás Talpone and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad2 Apr 2029
A row about effort at Colón
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Renzo Sastre was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market2 Apr 2029
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Colón, another week without a signature from Gabriel Risso Patrón.
Squad2 Apr 2029
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Jeremías Sabbatini is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
Squad2 Apr 2029
It will be explained as a change for the team and it may even be one. Nobody who has worn one believes that, and neither does the man who has just had it taken away.
The dugout2 Apr 2029
Alan Bonansea has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Colón 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.
Market2 Apr 2029
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Marcelo Coates has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Colón.
The dugout2 Apr 2029
The manager makes an example of Erick Isla
“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.
Market2 Apr 2029
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Colón know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market19 Mar 2029
Only the photograph left for Mateo Faure
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mateo Faure will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Colón the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad19 Mar 2029
Tempers go at Colón
Luca Campagnaro 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.
The dugout19 Mar 2029
The manager makes an example of Nicolás Thaller
“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.
Match17 Mar 2029
Temperley left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout19 Mar 2029
This is not rotation. Marcelo Coates has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Colón is pretending otherwise.
Squad19 Mar 2029
A row about effort at Colón
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nehemías Portillo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom19 Mar 2029
114% of the income goes out in wages at Colón
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
The dugout19 Mar 2029
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
The dugout19 Mar 2029
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑1, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad12 Mar 2029
9 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Match7 Mar 2029
Colón out of the cup
Defensores Unidos ended it 1‑1. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.
Player ratings12 Mar 2029
No sign of nerves from Marcelo Coates at 19 — 7.63
The hardest thing about being 19 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Marcelo Coates did not need any: 7.63, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Market12 Mar 2029
“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 Colón, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad12 Mar 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Colón this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom12 Mar 2029
The numbers do not look good at Colón
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.
Squad12 Mar 2029
Words at Colón training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Renzo Sastre is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The terraces12 Mar 2029
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Matías Córdoba has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
The dugout12 Mar 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Gabriel Risso Patrón, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market19 Feb 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Colón is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Player ratings19 Feb 2029
Marked 7.87 at 20, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Squad19 Feb 2029
Tempers go at Colón
Nicolás Talpone 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 Feb 2029
Words at Colón training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Renzo Sastre is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The terraces19 Feb 2029
The crowd has taken to Mateo Faure
At 20 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Match17 Feb 2029
Three points for Colón, 2‑0 the final word against Central Norte in a contest settled by the finer margins.
The dugout19 Feb 2029
This is not rotation. Marcelo Coates has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Colón is pretending otherwise.
The dugout19 Feb 2029
Tomás Ríos: “That is the standard”
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 2‑0, already talking about the next one.
The dugout19 Feb 2029
Nehemías Portillo has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Colón 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market22 Jan 2029
“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 Colón, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market22 Jan 2029
Mateo Faure has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Colón they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad22 Jan 2029
Tempers go at Colón
Luca Campagnaro 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.
Market22 Jan 2029
Mateo Faure is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Colón has been clear about where Mateo Faure stands, which is more than many ever get.
Squad22 Jan 2029
Franco Farías 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 Colón will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
The dugout22 Jan 2029
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
The dugout22 Jan 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Erick Isla, and the manager let it.
The dugout22 Jan 2029
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.
Market22 Jan 2029
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Nicolás Thaller signs something — a contract at Colón or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match9 Oct 2028
Colón finish in position 13
42 points, and the season has a number on it. Whatever it felt like from the inside, this is what it will look like in a book.
Player ratings9 Oct 2028
Ramiro Tulián, 20, steals the show — 8.41
Marked 8.41 at 20, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Player ratings9 Oct 2028
At 35 every good afternoon gets called a throwback, and this one was: 7.82, and nobody on the pitch better.
Market9 Oct 2028
“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.
Squad9 Oct 2028
Words exchanged at Colón
Nicolás Talpone and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad9 Oct 2028
A row about effort at Colón
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Gabriel Risso Patrón was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The terraces9 Oct 2028
He is 20 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Match7 Oct 2028
A 2‑0 win over Almirante Brown, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad9 Oct 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Jeremías Sabbatini and Colón agree another 4 years.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market14 Aug 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Colón can pretend not to have heard.
Match12 Aug 2028
No end in sight to Colón's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Colón has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad14 Aug 2028
Tempers go at Colón
Nicolás Talpone 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.
Squad14 Aug 2028
Ramiro Tulián 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.
Match12 Aug 2028
3 matches without a goal for Colón
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
The dugout14 Aug 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.
Match12 Aug 2028
A bad afternoon for Colón against Acassuso
0‑1 to Acassuso, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Loan watch14 Aug 2028
The goals keep arriving from Alan Bonansea’s exile
11 goals in 26 games at Almagro — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Colón updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
The dugout14 Aug 2028
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match15 Jul 2028
4‑1, and Matías Córdoba took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Colón tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Player ratings17 Jul 2028
Two goals and a mark of 8.75 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Player ratings17 Jul 2028
Jano Aguiar, 20, steals the show — 8.19
Marked 8.19 at 20, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Market17 Jul 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Colón is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Market17 Jul 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Colón can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets17 Jul 2028
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Colón have done the hard part with Villa San Carlos, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad17 Jul 2028
Tempers go at Colón
Nicolás Talpone 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.
Squad17 Jul 2028
Erick Isla arrives at the club he grew up with
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Erick Isla has, at Colón, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Market17 Jul 2028
Thiago Fusco has left for Aldosivi in a $250.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.