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.
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.
“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.
“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.
$7.8M is a serious amount of money and it does not play centre-forward. Everybody in the dressing room knows who used to be looked at when it went wrong.
“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.
“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 Deportes Tolima, and 7 appearances in 25 say he has earned the hearing.
Damián Martínez arrives at 37 with nothing left to prove and plenty left to pass on. Legs are a young man's currency; knowing where to stand never ages.
The fee is $1.1M, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Bogota drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
“I did not go to Deportivo Tachira to sit and watch. I want to come back to Deportes Tolima and fight for my place.” 2 appearances in 20 matches say the rest.
“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.
Vasco da Gama 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.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Neto Volpi will call it something else in private.
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.
“I did not go to Yokohama F. Marinos to sit and watch. I want to come back to Deportes Tolima and fight for my place.” 2 appearances in 9 matches say the rest.
In brief
The terracesEverybody has an opinion about Neto Volpi
“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.
“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 easiest signature of my career.” Juan José Mera and Deportes Tolima agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
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.