Marked for Hernán Correa
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market3 Dec 2029
“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 The request is on a desk at Atlanta, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom3 Dec 2029
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Atlanta
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
The dugout3 Dec 2029
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Transfer targets3 Dec 2029
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Estudiantes have kept their man, and Atlanta go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad3 Dec 2029
Franco Caro in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Atlanta this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Dec 2029
Words at Atlanta training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Federico Castro 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.
Transfer targets3 Dec 2029
A loan move for Luis Cohen is in the works
Atlanta have made the call to River Plate. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Transfer targets3 Dec 2029
A loan move for Diego Godoy is in the works
Atlanta have made the call to Vélez. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The dugout3 Dec 2029
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad26 Mar 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Jeremías Ulla and Atlanta agree another 4 years.
Squad26 Mar 2029
Franco Caro 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 dugout26 Mar 2029
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Squad26 Mar 2029
Federico Castro 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.
Squad26 Mar 2029
Too much change too quickly at Atlanta
5 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
Match24 Mar 2029
It needed Julián Aquino to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Racing, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
The dugout26 Mar 2029
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Carlos Pereyra chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.
The dugout26 Mar 2029
The manager makes an example of Hernán Correa
“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.
Player ratings26 Mar 2029
Successful dribbles: 12. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match24 Feb 2029
Nowhere to hide for Atlanta
0‑3 against Quilmes, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
The dugout26 Feb 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Atlanta may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad26 Feb 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Atlanta this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout26 Feb 2029
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Squad26 Feb 2029
Words at Atlanta training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Benicio Ramírez 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 dugout26 Feb 2029
The manager makes an example of Benicio Ramírez
“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.
Boardroom26 Feb 2029
Doors closed at Atlanta
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
Squad26 Feb 2029
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Atlanta know it.
Squad26 Feb 2029
Too much change too quickly at Atlanta
8 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match10 Feb 2029
The wait goes on for Atlanta
21 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Market12 Feb 2029
Rodrigo Sosa 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 Atlanta can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout12 Feb 2029
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Squad12 Feb 2029
Words exchanged at Atlanta
Damián Arruabarrena 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.
Match10 Feb 2029
Atlanta cannot find the net
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Squad12 Feb 2029
A row about effort at Atlanta
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alex Soria was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market12 Feb 2029
No place for Mauro García in the plan
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Mauro García has his answer from Atlanta; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
The dugout12 Feb 2029
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Carlos Pereyra chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
The dugout12 Feb 2029
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces22 Jan 2029
The mood at Atlanta 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.
Boardroom22 Jan 2029
The scrutiny sharpens at Atlanta
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Atlanta is running low.
Market22 Jan 2029
“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 Atlanta, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout22 Jan 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Atlanta may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market22 Jan 2029
Only the photograph left for Francis Essien
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Francis Essien will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Atlanta the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad22 Jan 2029
Alejo Dramisino 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.
Squad22 Jan 2029
A row about effort at Atlanta
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alex Soria was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad22 Jan 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Jeremías Ulla and Atlanta agree another 4 years.
Squad22 Jan 2029
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 16 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market18 Dec 2028
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Gimnasia y Esgrima waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Atlanta is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Market18 Dec 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
The dugout18 Dec 2028
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Transfer targets18 Dec 2028
The deal with Newell's Old Boys is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Squad18 Dec 2028
Words exchanged at Atlanta
Damián Arruabarrena 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.
Squad18 Dec 2028
A row about effort at Atlanta
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tomás Rojas was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets18 Dec 2028
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Defensa y Justicia have kept their man, and Atlanta go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Transfer targets18 Dec 2028
A loan move for Matías Lucero is in the works
Atlanta have made the call to Argentinos Juniors. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Market18 Dec 2028
He is 19, and the scouting reports agree on the only line that matters: the ceiling. Signings like this are lottery tickets written by professionals.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match4 Dec 2028
Every point is an argument now for Atlanta
Position 15 and 2 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Boardroom4 Dec 2028
Carlos Pereyra has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Atlanta can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Market4 Dec 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
The dugout4 Dec 2028
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Squad4 Dec 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Juan Francisco Rago and Atlanta agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad4 Dec 2028
Words exchanged at Atlanta
Alejo Dramisino 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.
Squad4 Dec 2028
Damián Arruabarrena 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.
Transfer targets4 Dec 2028
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad4 Dec 2028
The medical room confirms 40 days on the sidelines for Exequiel Zárate, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market20 Nov 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
The dugout20 Nov 2028
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad20 Nov 2028
Words at Atlanta training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Damián Arruabarrena 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.
Squad20 Nov 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Atlanta this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad20 Nov 2028
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
The dugout20 Nov 2028
Nobody at Atlanta will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Market20 Nov 2028
Tomás Rojas runs his contract down
1 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Atlanta money.
The dugout20 Nov 2028
Rodrigo Sosa 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 Atlanta, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout20 Nov 2028
The manager makes Hernán Correa a promise
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Atlanta. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match6 Nov 2028
Every point is an argument now for Atlanta
Position 15 and 2 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Market6 Nov 2028
Braian Rivero 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 Atlanta can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout6 Nov 2028
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad6 Nov 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Atlanta this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad6 Nov 2028
68 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad6 Nov 2028
Words at Atlanta training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Hernán Correa 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.
Market6 Nov 2028
Alejo Dramisino is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Atlanta has been clear about where Alejo Dramisino stands, which is more than many ever get.
The dugout6 Nov 2028
The manager makes an example of Hernán Correa
“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.
Squad6 Nov 2028
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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad31 Jul 2028
9 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Market31 Jul 2028
“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 Atlanta, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match29 Jul 2028
8 matches without a win for Atlanta
The run now stands at 8, and the questions being asked around Atlanta are no longer polite ones.
Market31 Jul 2028
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Federico Álvarez will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Atlanta the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Player ratings31 Jul 2028
Successful dribbles: 28. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad31 Jul 2028
Damián Arruabarrena 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.
Squad31 Jul 2028
A row about effort at Atlanta
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Juan Francisco Rago was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match29 Jul 2028
3 matches without a goal for Atlanta
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Match29 Jul 2028
0‑1 to Banfield, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match15 Jul 2028
No end in sight to Atlanta's wait for a win
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Atlanta has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad17 Jul 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Transfer targets17 Jul 2028
The deal with Boca Juniors is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Squad17 Jul 2028
A falling-out at Atlanta
Federico Álvarez and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout17 Jul 2028
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad17 Jul 2028
A row about effort at Atlanta
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Juan Francisco Rago was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets17 Jul 2028
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Match15 Jul 2028
0‑2 to Racing Club, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout17 Jul 2028
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market19 Jun 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Atlanta can pretend not to have heard.
Market19 Jun 2028
Only the photograph left for Felipe Rocca
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Felipe Rocca will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Atlanta the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad19 Jun 2028
A falling-out at Atlanta
Lucas Ríos and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market19 Jun 2028
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Atlanta will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Words at Atlanta training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Juan Francisco Rago 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.
Transfer targets19 Jun 2028
Atlanta asked and River Plate said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The dugout19 Jun 2028
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The dugout19 Jun 2028
The manager makes an example of Hernán Correa
“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.
Market19 Jun 2028
He is 19, and the scouting reports agree on the only line that matters: the ceiling. Signings like this are lottery tickets written by professionals.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market5 Jun 2028
Tomás Rojas 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 Atlanta can pretend not to have heard.
Market5 Jun 2028
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Atlanta they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad5 Jun 2028
A falling-out at Atlanta
Alejo Dramisino and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad5 Jun 2028
A row about effort at Atlanta
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Lucas Ríos was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout5 Jun 2028
The manager makes an example of Mauro García
“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 Jun 2028
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Atlanta will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
The dugout5 Jun 2028
Nobody at Atlanta will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Squad5 Jun 2028
The captaincy has been taken off Juan Francisco Rago. Atlanta will call it a decision about the team; a dressing room reads it as a verdict on a man.
The dugout5 Jun 2028
“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.