Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Edwin Laszo has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Llaneros have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Llaneros, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Howell Mena has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Llaneros can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Llaneros have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Llaneros, and 2 appearances in 21 say he has earned the hearing.
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Fortaleza CEIF defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
A 1-0 win over Real Santander, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
The shirt still fits. Jesus Falcao is back at Llaneros, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
The shirt still fits. Juan Garcia is back at Llaneros, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Miguel Ortega knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Kevin Caicedo reports back to Llaneros with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
Independiente Medellin pay $310.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Llaneros, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The name of Kevin Caicedo has come up in conversations Llaneros were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Llaneros has been clear about where Brian Benítez stands, which is more than many ever get.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Llaneros, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Luis Miranda has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Luis Miranda has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
He came through the session, took part in everything and finished it smiling. Llaneros will not rush him, and he will spend the next fortnight trying to rush them.