Roberto Valdez

Right Back - Sportivo Ameliano
12 Sep 2032
Sunday
Process

Marked for Roberto Valdez

277 Edition

The Sportivo Ameliano Gazette

17 Nov 2031
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A row about effort at Sportivo Ameliano

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Erik López was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad

Alexis Doldán 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 Sportivo Ameliano this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The dugout

No hiding place for Ronaldo Henríquez

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

The dugout

Jonatan Benítez 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.

Market

Still no signature from Bruno Valdez

1 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Sportivo Ameliano could get for him.

The dugout

A door opens for Enzo Acosta

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.

In brief

Back issues
275 Edition

The Sportivo Ameliano Gazette

3 Nov 2031
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Cristóbal Marín is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sportivo Ameliano is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Tempers go at Sportivo Ameliano

Erik López 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

Juan Álvarez 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.

Squad

Lucio Pérez is not the player he was

It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph a local paper has to write. 34 years old, 3 points down on where he was, and a body that has started charging interest on a career.

Market

Sportivo Ameliano and Santiago Videla are talking past each other

“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.

Squad

Roberto Valdez signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Roberto Valdez and Sportivo Ameliano agree another 3 years.

The dugout

Héctor Lezcano 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.

The dugout

Sebastián Da Silva 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 Sportivo Ameliano, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Market

Santiago Videla runs his contract down

2 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Sportivo Ameliano money.

In brief