Marked for Brayan Rodríguez
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words exchanged at Zamora
Arlés Flores and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad9 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Zamora
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Cristian Díaz was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
The manager makes Arlés Flores a promise
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Zamora. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Market9 Nov 2026
The clock does Antony Trujillo’s negotiating for him
2 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Zamora could ask drops and the wages Antony Trujillo can ask rise.
Market9 Nov 2026
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Beycker Velásquez signs something — a contract at Zamora or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad14 Sep 2026
A row about effort at Zamora
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Anthonys Matos was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
Nobody at Zamora will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The dugout14 Sep 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.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Antony Trujillo trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market14 Sep 2026
4 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Zamora could get for him.
Market14 Sep 2026
Zamora have made Nicol Martínez available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
Market14 Sep 2026
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Beycker Velásquez signs something — a contract at Zamora or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Squad14 Sep 2026
The training reports on Brayan Rodríguez are not good
A bad Saturday is forgiven; a bad Tuesday is chosen. Standards have slipped and in a building where everybody watches everybody, it has been noticed.
Squad14 Sep 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.