15 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Cartagena lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“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 The request is on a desk at Cartagena, and it is not being withdrawn.
Jean Jules has left for Albacete in a $1.6M deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Words at Cartagena training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Javi Guerra 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.
11 days since the seat came open, a list of names doing the rounds, and nobody has signed anything. Every week this drags on the shortlist gets shorter.
Yanis Rahmani 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.
8 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
The end came on a Tuesday, as these things usually do: a short meeting, a shorter statement, and Fernando Prieto clearing his office by noon. Football’s cruellest ritual, performed to schedule.
23 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Cartagena lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The official line will be that it was routine. It was not routine, the timing says so, and every person in that room knows what the next bad result costs.
The offer from Ibiza for Yanis Rahmani was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
“I am not thinking past Saturday, and I would advise nobody else to.” The caretaker’s first rule is to pretend the job is small; Vicente García recited it perfectly.
Javi Guerra 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.
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. Eldense have kept their man, and Cartagena go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The bill for the sacking has arrived. Fernando Prieto leaves with $32.2K for the time left on his deal, and that money buys the club nothing it can put on the pitch.
In brief
The dugoutJavi Guerra is playing like a man with something to prove
31 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Cartagena lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Cartagena have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Javi Guerra 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.
Everybody saw it before anybody said it. At 38 the numbers say 3 points down on what he was, and the question for Cartagena is how to handle a man they owe a great deal.
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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Yago Santiago signs something — a contract at Cartagena or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
A season-long audition: Tarazona still own him, but the shirt and the minutes are Cartagena's to give. A loan is a bet both clubs believe they are winning.
39 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Cartagena lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Cartagena is running low.
The offer from Córdoba for Benito was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Pontevedra waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Cartagena is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Cartagena can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Cartagena they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Cartagena had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Barcelona, 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 Cartagena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadJavi Guerra falls out with a teammate over standards
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Benito was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Pedro Álvaro.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Two goals and a mark of 8.90 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Cartagena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 May 2027
Words at Cartagena training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Cristian Espinoza 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 things on a Saturday afternoon that nobody around him can answer, which is flattering for about one season and a problem after that. Cartagena will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
“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 dugout3 May 2027
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Fernando Prieto, on a 2‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Jean Jules 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.
Juan Iglesias 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.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Words at Cartagena training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Benito 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Alex Freeman has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ian, and the manager let it.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Fernando Prieto chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Tarazona? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
In brief
The dugoutPedro Álvaro knocks on the manager’s door
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Marco Carrascal will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Cartagena the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Cartagena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph a local paper has to write. 38 years old, 3 points down on where he was, and a body that has started charging interest on a career.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Benito was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Usse Diao’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Cartagena needing him to play as if none of it matters.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Aridane Hernández and Cartagena agree another 2 years.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Benito was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Cartagena told Juan Iglesias something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
5 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
“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 dugout8 Mar 2027
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Fernando Prieto chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
The name of Lucho García has come up in conversations Cartagena were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Cartagena have done the hard part with Boca Juniors, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Estudiantes is saying, and nobody at Cartagena is enjoying the guessing.
Aridane Hernández 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.
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Cartagena will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Benito was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The offer from Alcorcón for Chiki was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at River Plate is saying, and nobody at Cartagena is enjoying the guessing.
Pablo De Blasis 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.
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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Alfredo Ortuño. 2‑1 against Antequera, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Cartagena can pretend not to have heard.
Rayo Vallecano wanted more than $980.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
Pablo De Blasis 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.
At 28 the improving is meant to be over, and it is not: 3 points better than a year ago. It happens to the ones who take the boring parts seriously.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Words at Cartagena training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aridane Hernández 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Yago Santiago has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Cartagena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words at Cartagena training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aridane Hernández 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.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 1‑0, Fernando Prieto could afford to be generous.
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.
At 35 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.88 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Pablo De Blasis 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.
He is 23 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Words at Cartagena training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Pedro Álvaro 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 ratings23 Nov 2026
Yago Santiago was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.23. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Dani Sánchez 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.
Algeciras left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Words at Cartagena training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Pedro Álvaro 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.
Something was said to Pablo De Blasis and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
9 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
6 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 said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Aridane Hernández was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Chances created: 12. Not on the scoresheet and not remotely anonymous — a passing performance that pulled a defence apart without leaving a mark on the column that gets read.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑3 Fernando Prieto left the room before anybody could ask which.
Pablo De Blasis 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.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Words at Cartagena training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aridane Hernández 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.
Hércules left with the points after a 1‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 1‑3 Fernando Prieto left the room before anybody could ask which.
“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 dugout28 Sep 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Luismi's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Nobody at Cartagena is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Marco Carrascal will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Cartagena the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Dani Sánchez 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.
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. BK Hacken have kept their man, and Cartagena go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Fernando Prieto after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Successful dribbles: 14. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
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.