Marked for Liam Ojeda
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market30 Nov 2026
Liam Ojeda 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 Alvarado can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Alvarado may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Emanuel Bilbao 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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words at Alvarado training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Germán Sosa 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.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
Wages eat 178% of everything Alvarado earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Santiago Gutiérrez, and the manager let it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market19 Oct 2026
Liam Ojeda 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 Alvarado can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Alvarado have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market19 Oct 2026
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Alvarado they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad19 Oct 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 Alvarado this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Words at Alvarado training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Facundo Centurión 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 dugout19 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.
Market19 Oct 2026
The Marco Miori story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Marco Miori signs something — a contract at Alvarado or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
The manager makes Liam Gómez a promise
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Alvarado. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
Pablo Hofstetter 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market5 Oct 2026
Jorge López 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 Alvarado can pretend not to have heard.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Emanuel Bilbao 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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Words at Alvarado training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matías Mansilla 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.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
Wages swallow 229% of the Alvarado 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 dugout5 Oct 2026
“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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
15 new faces, and Alvarado are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
Liam Ojeda knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Liam Ojeda trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market5 Oct 2026
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Bautista Casas Medina has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Alvarado.
The dugout5 Oct 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 39. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Match19 Sep 2026
No end in sight to Alvarado's wait for a win
9 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Alvarado has to find a result from somewhere.
Market21 Sep 2026
“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 Alvarado, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market21 Sep 2026
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Alvarado they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad21 Sep 2026
A falling-out at Alvarado
Emanuel Bilbao and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad21 Sep 2026
A row about effort at Alvarado
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Germán Sosa was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match19 Sep 2026
Almagro left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Bautista Ortiz after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
Nahuel Speck gets it from the manager
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market7 Sep 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Alvarado can pretend not to have heard.
Match5 Sep 2026
7 matches without a win for Alvarado
The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Alvarado are no longer polite ones.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 28. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words exchanged at Alvarado
Matías Mansilla 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.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Germán Cervera, and the manager let it.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at Alvarado training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tomás Berra 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Somebody has moved past him. It is not a dropping and it is worse than one, because a dropping is about a Saturday and this is about where he stands.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
Match5 Sep 2026
A 1‑1 draw with Patronato leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad10 Aug 2026
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.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 26. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad10 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 Alvarado this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match8 Aug 2026
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Market10 Aug 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. José Medina 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.
Market10 Aug 2026
Topo steps up from the Alvarado academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Topo 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.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Liam Ojeda 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.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Juan Russo 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.
Squad10 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Alvarado
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Lucas Chiozza was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.