A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
0‑5 against Chacarita Juniors, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Talleres have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Nueva Chicago have kept their man, and Talleres go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Eugenio Olivera 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.
This is not rotation. Jefe has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Talleres is pretending otherwise.
Squad6 May 2030
Words at Talleres training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Eugenio Olivera 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.
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Jorge Alderete has come out of that comparison in the side, and Talleres have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
This is not rotation. Jefe has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Talleres is pretending otherwise.
Squad8 Apr 2030
Words at Talleres training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Eugenio Olivera 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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Diego Luna after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Sebastián Ortiz 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.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Jorge Russo is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Talleres have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Talleres can pretend not to have heard.
Eugenio Olivera 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.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
The end came on a Tuesday, as these things usually do: a short meeting, a shorter statement, and Eduardo Muñoz clearing his office by noon. Football’s cruellest ritual, performed to schedule.
9 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.
“Somebody picks the team on Saturday. This week it is me, and that is as far as I have thought.” No promises were made in either direction, which is how these usually begin.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Talleres can pretend not to have heard.
Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.
Squad4 Feb 2030
Words at Talleres training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Eugenio Olivera 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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Talleres this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Benicio Rossi 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.