Marked for Daniel Gutiérrez
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad27 Jun 2033
Kelvin Flórez is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.39 with 22 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
The dugout27 Jun 2033
“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.
Market27 Jun 2033
“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 The request is on a desk at Deportes Tolima, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout27 Jun 2033
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Transfer targets27 Jun 2033
Everything agreed with Atletico Nacional, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Player ratings27 Jun 2033
Up for the corner, and Cristian Trujillo delivers — 7.76
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Cristian Trujillo scored, was marked 7.76, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Squad27 Jun 2033
Luis 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.
Squad27 Jun 2033
Bryan Rovira falls out with a teammate over standards
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.
Player ratings27 Jun 2033
Máximo Oses beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 18. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings16 May 2033
Successful dribbles: 54. 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.
Squad16 May 2033
Defences have started doubling up on Kelvin Flórez
21 goals and a season average of 7.40 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Squad16 May 2033
Luis Sánchez 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 Deportes Tolima this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 May 2033
Bryan Rovira falls out with a teammate over standards
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.
Player ratings16 May 2033
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.04, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
The dugout16 May 2033
Juan José Mera is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Player ratings16 May 2033
One lapse, one goal, and ninety minutes of honest work counting for nothing. That is the job at Deportes Tolima, and it is a cruel one.
The dugout16 May 2033
“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.
Match14 May 2033
A 1‑1 draw with Patriotas leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad21 Mar 2033
A knee injury of the worst kind for Danilo Arboleda
33 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Deportes Tolima lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Player ratings21 Mar 2033
Successful dribbles: 27. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad21 Mar 2033
Luis Sánchez 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 Deportes Tolima this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Mar 2033
Words at Deportes Tolima training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bryan Rovira 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.
Match19 Mar 2033
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Luis Sánchez. 2‑0 against Deportes Quindio, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings21 Mar 2033
A mark of 7.88, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
The dugout21 Mar 2033
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.” Interim Coach, on a 2‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
The dugout21 Mar 2033
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Daniel Gutiérrez, and the manager let it.
The dugout21 Mar 2033
Juan Manuel Cruz 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad17 Jan 2033
A knee injury of the worst kind for Danilo Arboleda
96 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Deportes Tolima lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad17 Jan 2033
A fracture rules Yeison Guzmán out for 49 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Deportes Tolima will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market17 Jan 2033
Andrés Tovar 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 Deportes Tolima can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout17 Jan 2033
“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.
Squad17 Jan 2033
Luis Sánchez and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad17 Jan 2033
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Bryan Rovira was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market17 Jan 2033
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Junior Hernández signs something — a contract at Deportes Tolima or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout17 Jan 2033
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 dugout17 Jan 2033
The manager makes Yeison Guzmán a promise
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Deportes Tolima. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad13 Dec 2032
A knee injury of the worst kind for Danilo Arboleda
131 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Deportes Tolima lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad13 Dec 2032
A fracture rules Yeison Guzmán out for 84 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Deportes Tolima will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market13 Dec 2032
Terms done: Neto Volpi is going
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Real Cartagena waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Deportes Tolima is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
The dugout13 Dec 2032
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Market13 Dec 2032
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Deportes Tolima can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets13 Dec 2032
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Deportes Tolima have done the hard part with Atletico Nacional, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Transfer targets13 Dec 2032
Deportes Tolima had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Sheffield Wednesday, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Squad13 Dec 2032
Luis 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.
Transfer targets13 Dec 2032
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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market1 Nov 2032
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Deportes Tolima is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad1 Nov 2032
Luis Sánchez and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad1 Nov 2032
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Juan José Mera was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout1 Nov 2032
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Andrés Murillo Segura, and the manager let it.
The dugout1 Nov 2032
Dilan Ortíz 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 Deportes Tolima, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market1 Nov 2032
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Junior Hernández signs something — a contract at Deportes Tolima or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout1 Nov 2032
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.
Squad1 Nov 2032
A season on the outside for Dilan Ortíz
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Deportes Tolima has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
The dugout1 Nov 2032
“Judge me on him.” Managers do not say that kind of thing by accident — it moves the pressure from Junior Hernández’s shoulders onto his own, and both of them know it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad25 Oct 2032
Luis Sánchez 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 Deportes Tolima this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad25 Oct 2032
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Adrián Mosquera was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout25 Oct 2032
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Daniel Gutiérrez, and the manager let it.
The dugout25 Oct 2032
Bryan Rovira 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.
Market25 Oct 2032
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Deportes Tolima know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout25 Oct 2032
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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
The dugout18 Oct 2032
Daniel Gutiérrez: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Deportes Tolima have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The dugout18 Oct 2032
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Market18 Oct 2032
Luis Rivas has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Deportes Tolima they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad18 Oct 2032
Luis 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.
Squad18 Oct 2032
Words at Deportes Tolima training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bryan Rovira 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 dugout18 Oct 2032
Bryan Rovira 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 Deportes Tolima, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout18 Oct 2032
When it matters, Dilan Ortíz plays
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.
Market18 Oct 2032
The Luis Sánchez talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Deportes Tolima know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Market18 Oct 2032
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Andrés Tovar may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match11 Sep 2032
America de Cali will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Deportes Tolima were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Player ratings13 Sep 2032
A brace, and Adrián Mosquera takes the afternoon — 8.96
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Adrián Mosquera provided it, and the 8.96 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Market13 Sep 2032
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Deportes Tolima they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad13 Sep 2032
Luis 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.
Match11 Sep 2032
4 away wins in a row. Travelling support is the truest kind, and this season it is being repaid in the only currency that counts.
Squad13 Sep 2032
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Juan José Mera was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The terraces13 Sep 2032
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Player ratings13 Sep 2032
Ninety minutes of Máximo Oses at his very best
Marked 8.18. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Deportes Tolima.
Player ratings13 Sep 2032
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.07, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad14 Jun 2032
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 11 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Match12 Jun 2032
0‑6 to Atletico Nacional, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Market14 Jun 2032
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Deportes Tolima have lost him in all but the paperwork.
The dugout14 Jun 2032
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Deportes Tolima may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market14 Jun 2032
Leones come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Deportes Tolima did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad14 Jun 2032
Luis Sánchez and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match12 Jun 2032
Nobody could stop scoring
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Deportes Tolima and Atletico Nacional in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Squad14 Jun 2032
Bryan Rovira falls out with a teammate over standards
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.
Market14 Jun 2032
Duván Vergara is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Deportes Tolima has been clear about where Duván Vergara stands, which is more than many ever get.