The Iquique Gazette
Squad11 Feb 2030
A knee injury of the worst kind for Joaquín Pereyra
22 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Iquique lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The terraces11 Feb 2030
The mood at Iquique has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Squad11 Feb 2030
Tempers go at Iquique
Agustín Venezia 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.
Boardroom11 Feb 2030
5 academy players handed senior numbers at Iquique
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
Market11 Feb 2030
One of our own: Daniel Isla joins the Iquique first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Daniel Isla is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market11 Feb 2030
Marcelo Diaz steps up from the Iquique academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Marcelo Diaz 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.
Market11 Feb 2030
One of our own: Tomas Mena joins the Iquique first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Tomas Mena is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market11 Feb 2030
One of our own: Gary Mena joins the Iquique first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Gary Mena is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Boardroom11 Feb 2030
A promise the Iquique board did not keep
There was a commitment, there was a date, and the date went past. Trust at a football club takes years to build and one afternoon to spend.
In brief
- Squad Iquique lose Rodrigo Maripan
- Squad Words at Iquique training over how hard people work