“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 The request is on a desk at Universitario Popayan, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Universitario Popayan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Universitario Popayan asked and Santa Fe said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alejandro Perez 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.
A loan enquiry to Deportivo Cali: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Cristian Savarino is 20, and Universitario Popayan have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
He is 19, and nobody at Universitario Popayan signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
Benicio Torres is 17, and Universitario Popayan have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Universitario Popayan can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
The whole football department in one room on a weekday morning. Nothing was announced afterwards, which is what a board announces when it has run out of patience.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Universitario Popayan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Brian Cardona 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.
Universitario Popayan have made the call to Leones. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
A loan enquiry to Alianza Petrolera: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Every squad is half players the manager chose and half players he inherited. Duvan Cardona was chosen, the man who chose him has gone, and he starts again from nothing under the next one.
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Leonardo Ramirez has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
The words a physio says slowly. 34 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.
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Fatih Under has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Nothing has been announced and everybody understands what it means. A board that summons the whole football department on a Tuesday morning is a board that has stopped believing the problem will fix itself.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Universitario Popayan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Brian Cardona 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.
He is doing his job and he is not settling. Universitario Popayan were supposed to be a step up in his own reckoning, and his own reckoning has been adjusted since he arrived.
It will be explained as a change for the team and it may even be one. Nobody who has worn one believes that, and neither does the man who has just had it taken away.
Every squad has men who were signed by a particular manager and men who were merely inherited. Benjamín Rodríguez is in the first group, and the man who wanted him here is no longer in the building.
The words a physio says slowly. 42 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.
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Chori was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
4 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Universitario Popayan could ask drops and the wages Rafael Romero can ask rise.
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
Nothing has been announced and everybody understands what it means. A board that summons the whole football department on a Tuesday morning is a board that has stopped believing the problem will fix itself.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Universitario Popayan can pretend not to have heard.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Brian Cardona and Universitario Popayan agree another 2 years.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Universitario Popayan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Camilo Arias 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.
Every squad has men who were signed by a particular manager and men who were merely inherited. Duvan Cardona is in the first group, and the man who wanted him here is no longer in the building.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Universitario Popayan has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
“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 Universitario Popayan, and it is not being withdrawn.
Jefferson Rangel 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Brian Cardona 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Universitario Popayan, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The words a physio says slowly. 20 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.
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Fatih Under has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Nothing has been announced and everybody understands what it means. A board that summons the whole football department on a Tuesday morning is a board that has stopped believing the problem will fix itself.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Universitario Popayan may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Jefferson Martinez and Universitario Popayan agree another 2 years.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Brian Cardona was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
27 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Universitario Popayan lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Position 11 and 16 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Universitario Popayan can pretend not to have heard.
Jefferson Rangel 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Camilo Arias was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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 Universitario Popayan, and it is not being withdrawn.
Camilo Arias 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Brian Cardona was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
He is doing his job and he is not settling. Universitario Popayan were supposed to be a step up in his own reckoning, and his own reckoning has been adjusted since he arrived.
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Duvan Cardona keeps the shirt for now, at Universitario Popayan's convenience rather than his own.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Fernando Restrepo trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“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 Universitario Popayan, and it is not being withdrawn.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Universitario Popayan may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
The deal with Once Caldas 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.
Universitario Popayan had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Real Cartagena, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Universitario Popayan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Jul 2029
Camilo Arias 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.
Universitario Popayan asked and Real Santander said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Universitario Popayan, and both men came out saying it was fine.
17 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Universitario Popayan lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Diego Contreras 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.
Squad30 Oct 2028
Brian Cardona 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.
52 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Universitario Popayan lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Universitario Popayan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad31 Jul 2028
Brian Cardona 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Deportes Quindio have kept their man, and Universitario Popayan go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
In brief
MarketThe window shut and Williams Alfaro is still in the building