Marked for Mario Suárez
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings17 May 2027
Nobody could get near Raúl Tito
Successful dribbles: 25. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad17 May 2027
50 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad17 May 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Deportivo Municipal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad26 Apr 2027
A one-man rearguard from Mario Suárez
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Joazhiño Arroé 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.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 21 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad26 Apr 2027
The manager makes an example of Saúl Reyes
“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.
Match24 Apr 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Jems Tenorio. 1‑0 against Ayacucho, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
Defensive actions: 19, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match10 Apr 2027
4 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.
Squad12 Apr 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Deportivo Municipal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match10 Apr 2027
Universitario left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings12 Apr 2027
A masterclass from Raúl Tito
Marked 8.73 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Mario Suárez lets one through his hands
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad29 Mar 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Deportivo Municipal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings29 Mar 2027
Marked 8.87 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad29 Mar 2027
20 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad29 Mar 2027
The manager makes an example of Mario Suárez
“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 ratings29 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match27 Mar 2027
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market28 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 Deportivo Municipal, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Joazhiño Arroé 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.
Boardroom28 Dec 2026
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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad26 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Deportivo Municipal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Oct 2026
“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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
The manager plants his flag on Joao Acosta
“Judge me on him.” Managers do not say that kind of thing by accident — it moves the pressure from Joao Acosta’s shoulders onto his own, and both of them know it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad12 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Deportivo Municipal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Oct 2026
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Deportivo Municipal, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad12 Oct 2026
The shrug has gone, the language is coming, and he now argues in training like somebody who expects to be here next year. Half a signing's value is this and none of it appears on a fee.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Squad7 Sep 2026
A one-man rearguard from Mario Suárez
There were 10 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Match2 Sep 2026
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 23 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Eduardo Cabrera 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.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Defensive actions: 19. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad7 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Luis Chávez
“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.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
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.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
A mark of 7.95, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Nobody could get near Níger Vega
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad17 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Deportivo Municipal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Marked 9.23 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad17 Aug 2026
“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.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Defensive actions: 13. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.