The Cienciano Herald
Squad8 Feb 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Neri Bandiera
48 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Cienciano lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
Gonzalo Aguirre pops up at the right end — 7.54
7.54, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
Boardroom8 Feb 2027
Graduation day at Cienciano
5 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.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Claudio Núñez 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.
The terraces8 Feb 2027
Cienciano supporters have found a favourite in Gonzalo Aguirre
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Gonzalo Aguirre 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.
Market8 Feb 2027
One of our own: Sergio Santamaria joins the Cienciano first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Sergio Santamaria is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market8 Feb 2027
Cienciano promote Renato Tapia from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Renato Tapia has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Market8 Feb 2027
Roberto Garces steps up from the Cienciano academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Roberto Garces has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market8 Feb 2027
Roberto Mora steps up from the Cienciano academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Roberto Mora has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
In brief
- Match Gonzalo Aguirre sends Cienciano past Alianza Atletico
- Player ratings Nobody could get near Juan Romagnoli
- Squad Jordan Quispe in a row with a teammate