Marked for Facundo Barceló
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market5 Apr 2027
Nicolás Rossi 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 Juventud can pretend not to have heard.
Match3 Apr 2027
Juventud make it 4 in a row
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Juventud have 4 straight wins of it.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Julian Brandes is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Sebastián Sosa 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 ratings5 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The terraces5 Apr 2027
He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Words at Juventud training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Geiner 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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
The award is a small thing with a heavy meaning: for four weeks nobody in this division did his job better. Juventud have the trophy on a shelf and the player in the side.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad29 Mar 2027
Franco Cervi 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.
Market29 Mar 2027
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Facundo Barceló has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Juventud.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Words at Juventud training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Francisco Sagardia 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 dugout29 Mar 2027
“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 dugout29 Mar 2027
Facundo Barceló 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.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Player of the week, judged against every other man in the division. A small award, and one most careers never collect.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
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 Geiner Martínez is on it.
Looking ahead29 Mar 2027
Central Espanol next, and one man in the Juventud dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Market29 Mar 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Bruno Larregui signs something — a contract at Juventud or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout1 Mar 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Juventud may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Player ratings1 Mar 2027
Franco Cervi beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 30. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Player ratings1 Mar 2027
At 33 every good afternoon gets called a throwback, and this one was: 7.82, and nobody on the pitch better.
Market1 Mar 2027
“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.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Rodrigo Chagas 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 dugout1 Mar 2027
“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.
Squad1 Mar 2027
A row about effort at Juventud
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and David Morosini was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match27 Feb 2027
It needed Facundo Barceló to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Danubio, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
Franco Cervi beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 35. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad22 Feb 2027
A falling-out at Juventud
Sebastián Sosa and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad22 Feb 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” David Morosini and Juventud agree another 4 years.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
“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.
Match20 Feb 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad22 Feb 2027
A row about effort at Juventud
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and David Morosini was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Too much change too quickly at Juventud
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 dugout22 Feb 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Maximiliano Gomez to a room that had heard them before.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
Somebody else is better right now than Sebastián Sosa
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad4 Jan 2027
A fracture rules Gastón Pereiro out for 60 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Juventud will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market4 Jan 2027
“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.
Transfer targets4 Jan 2027
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Juventud have done the hard part with Rosario Central, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad4 Jan 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 Juventud this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Francisco Sagardia 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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Gonzalo Gómez and Juventud agree another 4 years.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
“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.
Market4 Jan 2027
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Facundo Barceló may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Juventud, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad16 Nov 2026
115 days out for Gastón Pereiro after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Juventud will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Sebastián Sosa 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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
David Morosini 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.
The dugout16 Nov 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.
The dugout16 Nov 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 Juventud, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market16 Nov 2026
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Juventud know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad16 Nov 2026
A fracture rules Luciano Ferreyra out for 64 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason San Martín SJ will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Nazareno Funez 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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nicolás Paz was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout16 Nov 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.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
Facundo Barceló 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.
The dugout16 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
Squad9 Nov 2026
A fracture rules Luciano Ferreyra out for 72 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason San Martín SJ will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Nicolás Paz 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 San Martín SJ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words at San Martín SJ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nicolás Pelaitay 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 dugout9 Nov 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Facundo Barceló trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market9 Nov 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.
Market9 Nov 2026
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. San Martín SJ know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad19 Oct 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 99 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market19 Oct 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what San Martín SJ can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” San Martín SJ have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market19 Oct 2026
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Nicolás Paz wants continental football; whether San Martín SJ can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Nicolás Paz 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.
Match17 Oct 2026
0‑1 to Temperley, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Boardroom19 Oct 2026
Nobody left the San Martín SJ dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Diego Mercado 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.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Sergio Luna after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad21 Sep 2026
Nazareno Funez 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.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words at San Martín SJ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nicolás Paz 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 Sep 2026
A 1‑0 win over Agropecuario Argentino, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad21 Sep 2026
100 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
A mark of 7.79, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
Lautaro Garzón dropped after a run of poor form
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Facundo Barceló
“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 dugout21 Sep 2026
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Sergio Luna on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.