The Almagro Chronicle
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
No sign of nerves from Joel Orlando at 20 — 7.69
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Joel Orlando did not need any: 7.69, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Tempers go at Almagro
Juan Pablo Zozaya 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 Sep 2026
Words at Almagro training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gino Barbieri 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.
Match12 Sep 2026
Joel Orlando’s goal not enough for Almagro
Joel Orlando scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Arsenal, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
The terraces14 Sep 2026
The crowd has taken to Joel Orlando
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.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
Enzo Silcan 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.
Market14 Sep 2026
Gabriel Ramírez steps up from the Almagro academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Gabriel Ramírez 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.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
Valentino González answers for it
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Joel Orlando, 20, is the weekend’s best young player
Measured against every other kid in the division and first among them. The senior award is where Almagro would like this to lead.
In brief
- Market The Gino Barbieri story refuses to die
- The dugout The plan did not have a place for Matías Laba
- Squad Tiziano Dornell has seen what the next man earns