Marked for César Munder
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market21 Dec 2026
“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 The request is on a desk at Palestino, and it is not being withdrawn.
The terraces21 Dec 2026
Ian Garguez has gone, the accounts have $1.1M in them, and the supporters have the feeling of having been sold something themselves. Good business and a good decision are not always the same thing.
Market21 Dec 2026
Palestino say no — this time
The offer from O'Higgins for Simón Pinto 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.
Market21 Dec 2026
Business is business: Ian Garguez goes
Deportes Copiapó paid $1.1M and Palestino took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Joao Moris is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Transfer targets21 Dec 2026
$39.0K was the most the club would pay and Magallanes were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
Transfer targets21 Dec 2026
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad21 Dec 2026
A row about effort at Palestino
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Joaquín Leites was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Nicolás Meza in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Palestino this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Transfer targets14 Dec 2026
The offer went to Unión San Felipe this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Market14 Dec 2026
There comes a point where a club either backs its own ambition or admits it does not have any. Deportes La Serena have paid $1.2M for Kevin Méndez, which is the loudest way there is of saying which one it chose.
Transfer targets14 Dec 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Palestino have kept their man, and Deportes La Serena go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Ángelo Henríquez 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.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Milovan Velásquez is 20, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nicolás Stefanelli was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Boardroom14 Dec 2026
The season a town measures the next twenty against. The trophy comes home with the squad, and the route through the streets was agreed days ago.
Match9 Dec 2026
Palestino march on in the cup
Deportes Recoleta are out and Palestino go through, 1‑0 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Palestino may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Age has not caught Bryan Carrasco yet — 8.14
At 35 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.14 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Market14 Dec 2026
The bid was some way short and Palestino did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Transfer targets14 Dec 2026
Union Espanola wanted more than $50.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Words at Palestino training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ariel Martínez 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.
Transfer targets14 Dec 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Racing Club have kept their man, and Palestino go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Words exchanged at Palestino
Julián Encinas 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad30 Nov 2026
Sebastián Pérez and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words at Palestino training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jonathan Benítez 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 dugout30 Nov 2026
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
Nelson Da Silva 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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Sebastián Pérez has seen what the next man earns
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at Palestino that is a harder question to answer.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market23 Nov 2026
César Munder hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Palestino can pretend not to have heard.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Words exchanged at Palestino
Sebastián Pérez 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.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Words at Palestino training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ariel Martínez 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 dugout23 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of César Munder
“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 dugout23 Nov 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Federico Anselmo trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
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 Ronnie Fernández is on it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market26 Oct 2026
César Munder hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Palestino can pretend not to have heard.
Squad26 Oct 2026
A row about effort at Palestino
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jonathan Benítez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Ronnie Fernández 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 dugout26 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Joe Abrigo, and the manager let it.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Too much change too quickly at Palestino
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.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
Ariel Martínez knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Ariel Martínez trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market26 Oct 2026
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
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 Ronnie Fernández is on it.
Market26 Oct 2026
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Federico Anselmo signs something — a contract at Palestino or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market19 Oct 2026
“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 Palestino, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Joao Moris is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Words at Palestino training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jonathan Benítez 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.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Words exchanged at Palestino
Ronnie Fernández 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 dugout19 Oct 2026
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 Bryan Carrasco is on it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market28 Sep 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Words exchanged at Palestino
Sebastián Pérez 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.
Squad28 Sep 2026
A row about effort at Palestino
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jonathan Benítez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Too much change too quickly at Palestino
7 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 dugout28 Sep 2026
César Munder 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 dugout28 Sep 2026
A promise honoured at Palestino
Something was said to Ronnie Fernández and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match26 Aug 2026
Palestino through in the cup
A 4‑2 win over Union Espanola, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.77, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Market31 Aug 2026
César Munder hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Palestino can pretend not to have heard.
Squad31 Aug 2026
6 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Jonathan Benítez, 35, rolls back the years — 8.40
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.40 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Match29 Aug 2026
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 8 matches without defeat is a foundation Palestino did not have in the autumn.
Match26 Aug 2026
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Palestino and Union Espanola in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Ronnie Fernández 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.
Match29 Aug 2026
A 2‑1 win over Ñublense, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market3 Aug 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Sebastián Pérez commits to Palestino for another 2 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Sebastián Pérez and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words at Palestino training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jonathan Benítez 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 dugout3 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Sebastián Pérez
“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.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
A performance of 8.07 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Market3 Aug 2026
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
Market3 Aug 2026
24 months to run and not a word offered. A club that lets the calendar negotiate for it usually ends up losing to the calendar.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Palestino are still strangers to each other
6 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.