Francisco Ramirez

Right Forward - Zulia
28 Aug 2028
Monday
Process

Marked for Francisco Ramirez

71 Edition

The Zulia Chronicle

6 Dec 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Jose Rosales damages knee ligaments — 31 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 31 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.

Squad

A fracture rules Darwin Martinez out for 15 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Zulia will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Squad

Tempers go at Zulia

Oscar Rosales 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.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Marcos Pedro

“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.

Boardroom

Zulia release $3.8M for the manager

The board have put money on the table rather than an encouraging word. What happens to it now is somebody else's problem, and somebody else's job.

Loan watch

Francisco Ramirez counts the days

“I watch every Zulia game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Estudiantes de Merida runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.

In brief

Back issues
67 Edition

The Zulia Chronicle

8 Nov 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A fracture rules Darwin Martinez out for 43 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Zulia will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Squad

Words at Zulia training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Iván Guaraz 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.

Squad

Tempers go at Zulia

Junior Gonzalez 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.

Boardroom

Zulia release $3.8M for the manager

The board have put money on the table rather than an encouraging word. What happens to it now is somebody else's problem, and somebody else's job.

Loan watch

Francisco Ramirez has seen enough of Estudiantes de Merida

“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Zulia, and 0 appearances in 20 say he has earned the hearing.

Squad

Iván Guaraz 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 Zulia, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

63 Edition

The Zulia Chronicle

11 Oct 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Luis Castillo breaks a bone — 30 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 30 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Squad

Sergio Arango keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Zulia may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Market

Zulia may not be able to give Oscar Rosales what he wants

It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Oscar Rosales wants continental football; whether Zulia can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.

In brief

59 Edition

The Zulia Chronicle

13 Sep 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Tempers go at Zulia

Patricio García 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.

Loan watch

Francisco Ramirez has seen enough of Estudiantes de Merida

“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Zulia, and 0 appearances in 12 say he has earned the hearing.

Squad

No hiding place for Luis Torres

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Luis Torres, and the manager let it.

In brief

55 Edition

The Zulia Chronicle

16 Aug 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

Luis Cordova, 17, plays like he has been here for years — 7.74

A mark of 7.74 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 17-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.

Squad

Words at Zulia training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Iván Guaraz 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.

Match

Zulia see off Metropolitanos

Three points for Zulia, 2‑1 the final word against Metropolitanos in a contest settled by the finer margins.

Squad

Tempers go at Zulia

Junior Gonzalez 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 terraces

Zulia supporters have found a favourite in Iván Guaraz

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Iván Guaraz 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.

Player ratings

Iván Guaraz in the eights

A performance of 8.44 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Alexis Rodríguez

Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

No hiding place for Juan Ferraresi

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Juan Ferraresi, and the manager let it.

Loan watch

Francisco Ramirez wants to come home

“I did not go to Estudiantes de Merida to sit and watch. I want to come back to Zulia and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 8 matches say the rest.

In brief