The Metropolitanos Sentinel
Squad29 May 2034
A falling-out at Metropolitanos
José Riasco and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match27 May 2034
Metropolitanos find a way past Real Frontera
Real Frontera made Metropolitanos work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad29 May 2034
Words at Metropolitanos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Eliézer González 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.
Player ratings29 May 2034
José Castillo runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings29 May 2034
Juan Manuel Solari takes the honours
Marked 7.99 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Metropolitanos had the best player on the pitch.
The dugout29 May 2034
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Interim Coach kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
The dugout29 May 2034
No hiding place for Jesús Yépez
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jesús Yépez, and the manager let it.
The dugout29 May 2034
Diego Ochoa has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Metropolitanos 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.
The dugout29 May 2034
Metropolitanos keep their word to Kamil Suárez
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
In brief
- Looking ahead Ramiro De la Riva goes back to face Academia Puerto Cabello B
- Market The Diego Ochoa story refuses to die
- Squad David Arango: “I am not a substitute”