Rafa

Attacking Midfielder (L) - Tristán Suárez U18
24 Oct 2035
Wednesday
Process
Overview Personal Contract News 2 Transfers Relations Events 48 Awards Matches History

Marked for Rafa

482 Edition

The Tristán Suárez Courier

22 Oct 2035
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match20 Oct 2035

No end in sight to Tristán Suárez's wait for a win

15 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Tristán Suárez has to find a result from somewhere.

Boardroom22 Oct 2035

Pressure builds in the Tristán Suárez boardroom

The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.

Squad22 Oct 2035

Tristán Suárez count the cost of losing Rafa

33 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

Player ratings22 Oct 2035

The game went through Valentino Luna — 6.66

Marked 6.66 on 9 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.

The dugout22 Oct 2035

Lucio Latorre gets picked when it counts

Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Lucio Latorre is on it.

The dugout22 Oct 2035

Interim Coach on the point

“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Interim Coach after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.

The dugout22 Oct 2035

The manager makes an example of Ignacio Martínez

“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.

The dugout22 Oct 2035

Bruno Ponce does not fit this one

Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.

Match20 Oct 2035

No goals between Tristán Suárez and Güemes

Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Güemes will be the happier side with the point.

In brief

Back issues
442 Edition

The Tristán Suárez Courier

15 Jan 2035
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom15 Jan 2035

The silence upstairs is getting loud at Tristán Suárez

Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.

Market15 Jan 2035

Agustín Quiroga puts it in writing

“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 Tristán Suárez, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad15 Jan 2035

Tempers go at Tristán Suárez

Brian Aguilar 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.

Transfer targets15 Jan 2035

Tristán Suárez rebuffed over Sheikh Jaw

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. River Plate have kept their man, and Tristán Suárez go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Market15 Jan 2035

One of our own: Rafa joins the Tristán Suárez first team

Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Rafa is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.

Market15 Jan 2035

Tristán Suárez promote Raúl Lombardi from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Raúl Lombardi has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.

Market15 Jan 2035

Benjamín Ibáñez steps up from the Tristán Suárez academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Benjamín Ibáñez 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.

Squad15 Jan 2035

Pedro Varela signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Pedro Varela and Tristán Suárez agree another 3 years.

The dugout15 Jan 2035

Nicolás Henry 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.

In brief