Álex Arce 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gonzalo Ríos 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Independiente Rivadavia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Tomás Bottari 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.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
The words a physio says slowly. 19 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Independiente Rivadavia may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Álex Arce 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.
In brief
SquadIván Villalba falls out with a teammate over standards
The words a physio says slowly. 26 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Independiente Rivadavia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Juan Manuel Elordi 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 words a physio says slowly. 35 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Álex Arce 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Independiente Rivadavia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Iván Villalba 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.
Álex Arce 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 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.
In brief
SquadThe manager has not finished forgetting José Florentín's mistake
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Independiente Rivadavia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Tomás Bottari 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Independiente Rivadavia have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
He will be fined, he will apologise, and he will play on Saturday. The order of those three tells you everything about what a football club actually values.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Independiente Rivadavia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadIván Villalba falls out with a teammate over standards
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Independiente Rivadavia have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Independiente Rivadavia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Juan Manuel Elordi 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.
Álex Arce 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 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.
Squad23 Nov 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting José Florentín's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Independiente Rivadavia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Iván Villalba 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.
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
Leonardo Villán is 34 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
Álex Arce 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 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.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Independiente Rivadavia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Independiente Rivadavia told Rodrigo Atencio something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Independiente Rivadavia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Iván Villalba 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.
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Juan Manuel Elordi has come out of that comparison in the side, and Independiente Rivadavia have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
Álex Arce 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 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Independiente Rivadavia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Independiente Rivadavia scored in the 108th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
The offer from Bayer Leverkusen for Álex Arce was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Independiente Rivadavia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Iván Villalba 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.
At 22 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.
The offer from Maccabi Haifa for Tomás Arias was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Álex Arce 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gonzalo Ríos 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.
Marked 7.57 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Independiente Rivadavia had the best player on the pitch.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Álex Arce and Independiente Rivadavia agree another 3 years.
Álex Arce 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.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” José Florentín and Independiente Rivadavia agree another 3 years.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Independiente Rivadavia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Iván Villalba 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.
Contract settled, hands shaken, no fee changing hands. Santiago Muñóz leaves Independiente Rivadavia the quiet way, and the wage bill breathes a little easier.