The Cartagena Sentinel
Market15 Nov 2027
Thiaguinho 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 The request is on a desk at Cartagena, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Words at Cartagena training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Róber Pier 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.
Squad15 Nov 2027
A falling-out at Cartagena
Yanis Rahmani and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout15 Nov 2027
Usse Diao 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 dugout15 Nov 2027
Lucho García is still paying for one afternoon at Cartagena
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
The dugout15 Nov 2027
Augusto Lotti 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 Cartagena, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout15 Nov 2027
Nacho 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 Nacho is on it.
Looking ahead15 Nov 2027
Aridane Hernández faces his old club
Eldense next, and one man in the Cartagena dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Thiaguinho remains an outsider
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Cartagena would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
In brief
- Squad Usse Diao has had enough of the bench
- Market The clock does Nacho’s negotiating for him
- Market Dionicio Escalante placed on the list