Cristopher Varela

Goalkeeper - Deportivo La Guaira
14 Nov 2030
Thursday
Process

Marked for Cristopher Varela

224 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

11 Nov 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

César Salazar has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Deportivo La Guaira they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Martín Gianoli 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 Deportivo La Guaira this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Home is on Rufat Guseynov's mind

“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Deportivo La Guaira are dealing with a man who wants a different country.

Squad

Ancizar Aragón gets it from the manager

“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.

Market

The Cristopher Varela question follows Deportivo La Guaira around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Cristopher Varela’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

Squad

Juan David Sánchez knocks on the manager’s door

“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Juan David Sánchez trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

In brief

Back issues
222 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

28 Oct 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Gabriel Lovato: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Deportivo La Guaira have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Market

Juan Ron is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Deportivo La Guaira is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Martín Gianoli 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 Deportivo La Guaira this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

In brief

220 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

14 Oct 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Genderson Ascanio asks to leave Deportivo La Guaira

“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.

Squad

Bryan Duarte: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Deportivo La Guaira have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Deportivo La Guaira lose Carlos Rivero

39 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Market

Only the photograph left for César Salazar

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. César Salazar will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Deportivo La Guaira the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Carlos Rivero 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 Deportivo La Guaira this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Braian Aquino stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Braian Aquino and Deportivo La Guaira agree another 1 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

In brief

216 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

16 Sep 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Deportivo La Guaira count the cost of losing Carlos Rivero

67 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

Market

César Salazar is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Deportivo La Guaira is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Carlos Rivero 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 Deportivo La Guaira this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Deportivo La Guaira lose Dimas

19 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Squad

No hiding place for Kevin Cardozo

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Kevin Cardozo, and the manager let it.

Market

Rufat Guseynov brings the grey hairs Deportivo La Guaira lacked

At 34, he has seen every situation this season can produce, twice. The legs will be managed; the head is the purchase.

In brief

212 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

19 Aug 2030
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

Carlos Faya shuts the door

Defensive actions: 33, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Cristopher Varela

There were 8 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.

Squad

Carlos Rivero out for 95 days

The medical room confirms 95 days on the sidelines for Carlos Rivero, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Market

César Salazar has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Deportivo La Guaira they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Carlos Rivero 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 Deportivo La Guaira this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Juan David Sánchez shuts the door

Defensive actions: 22, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Sebastián Castillo

Marked 9.19 — 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.

Match

Sebastián Castillo sends Deportivo La Guaira past Deportivo Tachira

It finished 1‑0, and it was Sebastián Castillo’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Deportivo La Guaira.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Miguel Pernía

Defensive actions: 19. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

In brief

208 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

22 Jul 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Deportivo La Guaira count the cost of losing Carlos Rivero

123 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Carlos Faya

Defensive actions: 26. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Market

César Salazar has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Deportivo La Guaira they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Tempers go at Deportivo La Guaira

Martín Gianoli 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.

Squad

Deportivo La Guaira count the cost of losing Nelson Hernández

62 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

Player ratings

One of those days for Sebastián Castillo

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.28, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Martín Gianoli

Defensive actions: 21. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Match

Sebastián Castillo sends Deportivo La Guaira past Llaneros

It finished 1‑0, and it was Sebastián Castillo’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Deportivo La Guaira.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Keiber Lamadrid

Marked 8.45 — 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.

In brief

203 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

17 Jun 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Carlos Faya puts it in writing

“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 La Guaira, and it is not being withdrawn.

Player ratings

Sebastián Castillo runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 30. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Abraham Pacheco says Deportivo La Guaira went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Market

Deportivo La Guaira say no — this time

The offer from Zulia for Juan Ron 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.

Squad

Martín Gianoli 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 Deportivo La Guaira this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Gonzalo Salega in the eights

A performance of 8.62 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Match

Honours even between Deportivo La Guaira and Portuguesa

1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Marco Morigi

“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.

Squad

Keiber Lamadrid is in the form of his life

A season average of 7.22 with 4 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.

In brief

202 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

10 Jun 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Keiber Lamadrid runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 24. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Carlos Rivero 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 Deportivo La Guaira this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

Deportivo La Guaira sell Leonardo Pérez for $690.0K

Leonardo Pérez has left for Caracas in a $690.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.

Squad

Cristopher Varela gets it from the manager

“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.

Match

A bad afternoon for Deportivo La Guaira against Aragua

0‑1 to Aragua, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad

Deportivo La Guaira count the cost of losing Genderson Ascanio

15 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

Squad

Alan Acevedo stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Alan Acevedo and Deportivo La Guaira agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Boardroom

Doors closed at Deportivo La Guaira

The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.

Market

Zulia expected to open talks for Bryan Duarte

Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Deportivo La Guaira will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.

In brief

201 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

3 Jun 2030
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Marlon Díaz

Successful dribbles: 40. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Match

Junior Paredes sends Deportivo La Guaira through

Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Junior Paredes obliged against Deportivo Lara. 2‑0 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is Deportivo La Guaira.

Match

Cup progress for Deportivo La Guaira

A 1‑1 win over Deportivo Lara, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?

Squad

Cristopher Varela decides it from twelve yards

1 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.

Squad

Gonzalo Salega says Deportivo La Guaira went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Market

Nelson Hernández is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Deportivo La Guaira is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Market

Deportivo La Guaira say no — this time

The offer from Trujillanos for Roberto Moreno 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.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Martín Gianoli

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.

Squad

Tempers go at Deportivo La Guaira

Sebastián Castillo 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

200 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

27 May 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Cristopher Varela keeps Deportivo La Guaira in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Market

Genderson Ascanio puts it in writing

“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 La Guaira, and it is not being withdrawn.

Player ratings

Martín Gianoli shuts the door

Defensive actions: 24, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Squad

Tempers go at Deportivo La Guaira

Martín Gianoli 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 ratings

One of those days for Jesús Vargas

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.40, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Player ratings

Keiber Lamadrid runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Junior Paredes gets it from the manager

“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.

Match

Deportivo La Guaira find a way past Zulia

Zulia made Deportivo La Guaira work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Juan Carlos Castellano

Marked 8.18 — 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.

In brief

199 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

20 May 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Carlos Faya asks to leave Deportivo La Guaira

“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.

Squad

Loureins Martínez: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Deportivo La Guaira have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Martín Gianoli 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 Deportivo La Guaira this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Caracas take the points off Deportivo La Guaira

Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Juan 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.

Player ratings

Sebastián Castillo runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 14. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

In brief

195 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

22 Apr 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Genderson Ascanio asks to leave Deportivo La Guaira

“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.

Squad

Deportivo La Guaira lose Rafael Arace

19 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Squad

Tempers go at Deportivo La Guaira

Carlos Rivero 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 ratings

Nothing got past Martín Gianoli

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.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Carlos Faya

Defensive actions: 19. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Player ratings

Sebastián Castillo runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Player ratings

The afternoon belonged to Keiber Lamadrid

A mark of 7.65, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.

Squad

No hiding place for Jesús Vargas

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jesús Vargas, and the manager let it.

Market

The Cristopher Varela question follows Deportivo La Guaira around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Cristopher Varela’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

In brief

193 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

8 Apr 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Sebastián Castillo

Successful dribbles: 33. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Martín Gianoli 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 Deportivo La Guaira this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Cristopher Varela gets it from the manager

“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.

Match

A bad afternoon for Deportivo La Guaira against Llaneros

0‑1 to Llaneros, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad

Deportivo La Guaira count the cost of losing Genderson Ascanio

78 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

Boardroom

Inquest at Deportivo La Guaira

The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.

In brief

191 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

25 Mar 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Juan Reyes keeps Deportivo La Guaira in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Match

Whatever happens, Deportivo La Guaira do not lose

10 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.

Market

Genderson Ascanio asks to leave Deportivo La Guaira

“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.

Squad

Tempers go at Deportivo La Guaira

Carlos Rivero 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 ratings

Rafael Arace in the eights

A performance of 8.52 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Junior Paredes

Marked 8.14 — 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.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Jorge Gutiérrez

“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 ratings

Sebastián Castillo runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Match

Rafael Arace rescues a point for Deportivo La Guaira

It needed Rafael Arace to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against Estudiantes de Caracas, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.

In brief

188 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

4 Mar 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

Still nobody has beaten Deportivo La Guaira

The unbeaten run reaches 7. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.

Squad

Carlos Rivero 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 Deportivo La Guaira this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Deportivo La Guaira get the job done against Portuguesa

A 3‑1 win over Portuguesa, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

Player ratings

Keiber Lamadrid in the eights

A performance of 8.99 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

Ancizar Aragón out for 83 days

The medical room confirms 83 days on the sidelines for Ancizar Aragón, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Squad

Jesús Vargas gets it from the manager

“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.

Squad

Rafael Arace knocks on the manager’s door

“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Rafael Arace trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

The terraces

Everybody has an opinion about Cristopher Varela

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.

Player ratings

Sebastián Castillo runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 12. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

In brief

187 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

25 Feb 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Cup progress for Deportivo La Guaira

A 2‑1 win over Zulia, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?

Market

Genderson Ascanio asks to leave Deportivo La Guaira

“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.

Squad

Tempers go at Deportivo La Guaira

Sebastián Castillo 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.

Match

Still nobody has beaten Deportivo La Guaira

The unbeaten run reaches 6. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Keiber Lamadrid

Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Junior Paredes

“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 ratings

Juan David Sánchez in the eights

A performance of 8.66 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Player ratings

Martín Gianoli shuts the door

Defensive actions: 15, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Market

The Cristopher Varela question follows Deportivo La Guaira around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Cristopher Varela’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

In brief

186 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

18 Feb 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

No end in sight to Deportivo La Guaira's wait for a win

6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Deportivo La Guaira has to find a result from somewhere.

Player ratings

Nothing got past José Correa

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 28 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

Player ratings

Keiber Lamadrid runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 27. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Market

Only the photograph left for Roberto Moreno

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Roberto Moreno will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Deportivo La Guaira the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Tempers go at Deportivo La Guaira

Martín Gianoli 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.

Squad

Gonzalo Salega gets it from the manager

“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 ratings

Diego Osio shuts the door

Defensive actions: 15, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Player ratings

Junior Paredes keeps on missing

Shots: 12, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.

Match

Deportivo La Guaira and Deportivo Lara cancel each other out

Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Deportivo Lara came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.

In brief

185 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

11 Feb 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

No end in sight to Deportivo La Guaira's wait for a win

5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Deportivo La Guaira has to find a result from somewhere.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Keiber Lamadrid

Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Tempers go at Deportivo La Guaira

Martín Gianoli 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.

Squad

Deportivo La Guaira count the cost of losing Genderson Ascanio

135 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

Squad

Cristopher Varela gets it from the manager

“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 ratings

Sebastián Castillo in the eights

A performance of 8.63 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Match

Deportivo La Guaira and Zulia take a point apiece

It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.

Player ratings

The one thing Junior Paredes could not do

Shots: 12, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.

Market

The Martín Gianoli talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Deportivo La Guaira know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

In brief

183 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

28 Jan 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Carlos Faya shuts the door

Defensive actions: 27, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Market

Genderson Ascanio puts it in writing

“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 La Guaira, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Carlos Rivero 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 Deportivo La Guaira this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Keiber Lamadrid runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Sebastián Castillo gets it from the manager

“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 ratings

Nothing got past Martín Gianoli

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 17 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

Market

The Cristopher Varela talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Deportivo La Guaira know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

Player ratings

The one thing Junior Paredes could not do

Shots: 8, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.

Match

No goals between Deportivo La Guaira and Estudiantes de Merida

Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Estudiantes de Merida will be the happier side with the point.

In brief

181 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

14 Jan 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Carlos Rivero 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 Deportivo La Guaira this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

The Carlos Faya talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Deportivo La Guaira know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

Market

Window shut, José Correa still here

Deportivo La Guaira spent the window trying to move José Correa on and nobody came. He trains with a squad that has already told him he is not part of it, and both sides now wait for the next one.

In brief

179 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

31 Dec 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Genderson Ascanio asks to leave Deportivo La Guaira

“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.

Squad

Tempers go at Deportivo La Guaira

Martín Gianoli 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.

Squad

No hiding place for Roberto Moreno

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Roberto Moreno, and the manager let it.

In brief

175 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

3 Dec 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Genderson Ascanio asks to leave Deportivo La Guaira

“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.

Squad

Juan Carlos Castellano signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Juan Carlos Castellano and Deportivo La Guaira agree another 2 years.

Squad

José Alí Meza 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 Deportivo La Guaira this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

Abraham Pacheco attracts admirers

The name of Abraham Pacheco has come up in conversations Deportivo La Guaira were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.

Squad

Deportivo La Guaira count the cost of losing Oscar Murillo

38 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

Boardroom

$1.3M on the table at Deportivo La Guaira

The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.

In brief

173 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

19 Nov 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Juan Reyes 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 Deportivo La Guaira this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Marco Morigi

“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.

Squad

Sebastián Castillo 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.

In brief

171 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

5 Nov 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

José Alí Meza says Deportivo La Guaira went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Market

Genderson Ascanio asks to leave Deportivo La Guaira

“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.

Squad

Carlos Rivero 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 Deportivo La Guaira this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Sebastián Castillo

“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.

Squad

Deportivo La Guaira count the cost of losing Roberto Moreno

15 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

Boardroom

$1.3M on the table at Deportivo La Guaira

The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.

In brief

168 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

15 Oct 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Tempers go at Deportivo La Guaira

José Alí Meza 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.

Squad

Deportivo La Guaira lose Dimas

95 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Market

The Martín Gianoli question follows Deportivo La Guaira around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Martín Gianoli’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

In brief

167 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

8 Oct 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Rafael Arace: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Deportivo La Guaira have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Market

Genderson Ascanio asks to leave Deportivo La Guaira

“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.

Squad

Carlos Rivero 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 Deportivo La Guaira this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Juan Reyes signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Juan Reyes and Deportivo La Guaira agree another 1 years.

Boardroom

$1.3M on the table at Deportivo La Guaira

The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.

Squad

Roberto Moreno gets it from the manager

“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.

In brief

163 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

10 Sep 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Sebastián Castillo: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Deportivo La Guaira have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Market

Abraham Pacheco is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Deportivo La Guaira is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Carlos Rivero 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 Deportivo La Guaira this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

In brief

159 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

13 Aug 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Cristopher Varela keeps Deportivo La Guaira in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Sebastián Castillo

Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Market

Abraham Pacheco has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Deportivo La Guaira they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Sebastián Castillo 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 Deportivo La Guaira this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Martín Gianoli

“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.

Match

Deportivo La Guaira come up short against Deportivo Tachira

Deportivo Tachira left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Squad

Rafael Arace knocks on the manager's door

“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 La Guaira, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Player ratings

Junior Paredes leaves them behind him

Shots: 10. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.

Market

The Cristopher Varela talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Deportivo La Guaira know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

In brief

158 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

6 Aug 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Sebastián Castillo

Successful dribbles: 29. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Martín Gianoli 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 Deportivo La Guaira this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Getting past Cristopher Varela has become the hardest job in the division

14 clean sheets and counting. Forwards used to back themselves here; now they shoot early, shoot wide, and look for somebody to blame.

Squad

Jesús Vargas signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Jesús Vargas and Deportivo La Guaira agree another 3 years.

Squad

Dino Trotta out for 14 days

The medical room confirms 14 days on the sidelines for Dino Trotta, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Boardroom

Deportivo La Guaira release $1.3M for the manager

The board have put money on the table rather than an encouraging word. What happens to it now is somebody else's problem, and somebody else's job.

Match

Deportivo La Guaira and Metropolitanos cancel each other out

Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Metropolitanos came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.

Market

The Diego Osio talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Deportivo La Guaira know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

Market

Nobody at Deportivo La Guaira has picked up the phone to Jesús Vargas

36 months to run and not a word offered. A club that lets the calendar negotiate for it usually ends up losing to the calendar.

In brief

157 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

30 Jul 2029
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

Martín Gianoli shuts the door

Defensive actions: 25, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Market

Deportivo Lara come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and Deportivo La Guaira did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

Match

Nobody wants to play Deportivo La Guaira right now

3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.

Squad

Carlos Rivero 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 Deportivo La Guaira this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Sebastián Castillo

Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Keiber Lamadrid

Marked 9.00 — 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.

Squad

Cristopher Varela shuts the door again

13 clean sheets and counting. Strikers leave this ground muttering his name, which is exactly how a goalkeeper measures a good season.

Squad

Junior Paredes gets it from the manager

“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.

Squad

Keiber Lamadrid is in the form of his life

A season average of 7.44 with 6 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.

In brief

156 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

23 Jul 2029
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Market

Genderson Ascanio 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 Deportivo La Guaira can pretend not to have heard.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Juan David Sánchez

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 26 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

Squad

Tempers go at Deportivo La Guaira

Carlos Rivero 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 ratings

A defender's afternoon for Marco Morigi

Defensive actions: 22. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Player ratings

Sebastián Castillo in the eights

A performance of 9.45 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Market

Deportivo Lara watching Abraham Pacheco

The interest is real enough to have reached print. Deportivo La Guaira have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.

Match

Deportivo La Guaira get the job done against Zamora

A 1‑0 win over Zamora, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

Squad

Getting past Cristopher Varela has become the hardest job in the division

12 clean sheets and counting. Forwards used to back themselves here; now they shoot early, shoot wide, and look for somebody to blame.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Gonzalo Salega

Marked 8.39 — 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.

In brief

155 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

16 Jul 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Jorge Gutiérrez keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Deportivo La Guaira may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Market

Marlon Díaz asks to leave Deportivo La Guaira

“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.

Squad

Carlos Rivero 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 Deportivo La Guaira this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Junior Paredes the difference as Deportivo La Guaira beat Llaneros

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Junior Paredes. 3‑1 against Llaneros, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Jesús Vargas

Marked 8.81 — 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.

Player ratings

Rafael Arace in the eights

A performance of 8.70 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

Getting past Cristopher Varela has become the hardest job in the division

11 clean sheets and counting. Forwards used to back themselves here; now they shoot early, shoot wide, and look for somebody to blame.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Marco Morigi

“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.

Market

The Cristopher Varela talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Deportivo La Guaira know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

In brief

151 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

18 Jun 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Juan Reyes

There were 8 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.

Squad

Nelson Hernández: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Deportivo La Guaira have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Market

Jefferson Sánchez has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Deportivo La Guaira they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Tempers go at Deportivo La Guaira

Cristopher Varela 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.

Match

Deportivo La Guaira come up short against Carabobo

Carabobo left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Squad

Another clean sheet for Cristopher Varela

11 shut-outs and counting. Goalkeepers are only noticed when they fail, and Cristopher Varela has given nobody the chance.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Gonzalo Salega

Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Market

No place for José Pérez in the plan

“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” José Pérez has his answer from Deportivo La Guaira; what he does with it is the next window’s story.

Market

The Cristopher Varela talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Deportivo La Guaira know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

In brief

150 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

11 Jun 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Martín Gianoli shuts the door

Defensive actions: 31, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Match

Deportivo La Guaira up to position 3

38 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Sebastián Castillo

Successful dribbles: 27. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Market

Genderson Ascanio puts it in writing

“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 La Guaira, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Jefferson Sánchez keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Deportivo La Guaira may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Market

Deportivo La Guaira turn down Deportivo Lara for Abraham Pacheco

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Squad

Deportivo La Guaira count the cost of losing Rafael Arace

15 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

Squad

Sebastián Castillo signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Sebastián Castillo commits to Deportivo La Guaira for another 3 years.

Squad

Cristopher Varela 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 Deportivo La Guaira this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

In brief

149 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

4 Jun 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Keiber Lamadrid

Successful dribbles: 25. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Carlos Rivero 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 Deportivo La Guaira this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

Deportivo Lara join the queue for Abraham Pacheco

Add another name to the list: Deportivo Lara have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Abraham Pacheco. The answer from Deportivo La Guaira has not changed — yet.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Carlos Faya

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 19 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

Squad

Getting past Cristopher Varela has become the hardest job in the division

10 clean sheets and counting. Forwards used to back themselves here; now they shoot early, shoot wide, and look for somebody to blame.

Boardroom

$1.3M on the table at Deportivo La Guaira

The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.

Market

Nelson Hernández told to find a new club

“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Nelson Hernández has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Deportivo La Guaira.

Squad

Gabriel Lovato gets it from the manager

“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.

Squad

Sebastián Castillo knocks on the manager's door

“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 La Guaira, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

148 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

28 May 2029
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Carlos Rivero 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 Deportivo La Guaira this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Sebastián Castillo runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Player ratings

Diego Osio in the eights

A performance of 9.61 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Player ratings

Keiber Lamadrid in the eights

A performance of 9.13 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Match

Keiber Lamadrid the difference as Deportivo La Guaira beat Deportivo Lara

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Keiber Lamadrid. 2‑0 against Deportivo Lara, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Carlos Faya

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 20 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

Squad

No hiding place for Jorge Gutiérrez

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jorge Gutiérrez, and the manager let it.

Squad

Keiber Lamadrid is carrying Deportivo La Guaira

5 goals and a season average of 7.37. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

Squad

Another clean sheet for Cristopher Varela

9 shut-outs and counting. Goalkeepers are only noticed when they fail, and Cristopher Varela has given nobody the chance.

In brief

147 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

21 May 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Jefferson Sánchez has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Deportivo La Guaira they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Tempers go at Deportivo La Guaira

Carlos Rivero 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 ratings

Martín Gianoli stands above it all

Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.82 on the card, and the Deportivo La Guaira support went home talking about one name.

Squad

Getting past Cristopher Varela has become the hardest job in the division

8 clean sheets and counting. Forwards used to back themselves here; now they shoot early, shoot wide, and look for somebody to blame.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Nelson Hernández

“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.

Squad

José Alí Meza knocks on the manager’s door

“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and José Alí Meza trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Sebastián Castillo

Successful dribbles: 14. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Player ratings

The one thing Junior Paredes could not do

Shots: 10, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.

Market

Cristopher Varela linked with a move away

The name of Cristopher Varela keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Deportivo La Guaira say nothing, which says plenty.

In brief

146 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

14 May 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

Deportivo La Guaira refuse to drop out of the race

Position 3, 32 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.

Market

Genderson Ascanio asks to leave Deportivo La Guaira

“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.

Squad

Carlos Rivero 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 Deportivo La Guaira this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Keiber Lamadrid

Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

No hiding place for José Alí Meza

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to José Alí Meza, and the manager let it.

Match

Deportivo La Guaira come up short against Caracas

Caracas left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Squad

Another clean sheet for Cristopher Varela

7 shut-outs and counting. Goalkeepers are only noticed when they fail, and Cristopher Varela has given nobody the chance.

The terraces

The spotlight tightens on José Alí Meza

Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.

Squad

Keiber Lamadrid has to sit this one out

A booking nobody needed, on a night the game was already won. Deportivo La Guaira lose a player for the most avoidable reason there is.

In brief

144 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

30 Apr 2029
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Cristopher Varela keeps Deportivo La Guaira in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 10 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Squad

Gonzalo Salega: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Deportivo La Guaira have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Tempers go at Deportivo La Guaira

Martín Gianoli 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 ratings

A masterclass from Sebastián Castillo

Marked 9.21 — 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.

Match

Junior Paredes sends Deportivo La Guaira past Deportivo Tachira

It finished 2‑1, and it was Junior Paredes’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Deportivo La Guaira.

Player ratings

Junior Paredes in the eights

A performance of 8.29 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

Gonzalo Salega signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Gonzalo Salega and Deportivo La Guaira agree another 4 years.

Player ratings

Juan Carlos Castellano in the eights

A performance of 8.09 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Keiber Lamadrid

Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

In brief

143 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

23 Apr 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Nothing got past Carlos Faya

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 28 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

Player ratings

Martín Gianoli shuts the door

Defensive actions: 27, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Market

Only the photograph left for Jefferson Sánchez

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Jefferson Sánchez will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Deportivo La Guaira the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Tempers go at Deportivo La Guaira

Carlos Rivero 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 ratings

Sebastián Castillo runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

No hiding place for Jorge Gutiérrez

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jorge Gutiérrez, and the manager let it.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Diego Osio

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 15 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

Match

Deportivo La Guaira draw a blank against Metropolitanos

The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Metropolitanos defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.

Market

Cristopher Varela linked with a move away

The name of Cristopher Varela keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Deportivo La Guaira say nothing, which says plenty.

In brief

140 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

2 Apr 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Jesús Vargas keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Deportivo La Guaira may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Carlos Rivero 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 Deportivo La Guaira this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Keiber Lamadrid

Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Cristopher Varela gets it from the manager

“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.

Match

A bad afternoon for Deportivo La Guaira against Llaneros

0‑1 to Llaneros, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Boardroom

Nobody left the Deportivo La Guaira 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.

Boardroom

$1.3M on the table at Deportivo La Guaira

The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.

Squad

The armband comes off Cristopher Varela

Deportivo La Guaira will explain it as a decision about the team, and it may well be one. A dressing room has never once read it that way.

Market

The Diego Osio question follows Deportivo La Guaira around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Diego Osio’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

In brief

139 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

26 Mar 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Carlos Faya shuts the door

Defensive actions: 35, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Squad

Juan David Sánchez keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Deportivo La Guaira may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Tempers go at Deportivo La Guaira

Carlos Rivero 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 ratings

Nothing got past Martín Gianoli

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 22 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Sebastián Castillo

Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Player ratings

Diego Osio shuts the door

Defensive actions: 20, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

In brief

138 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

19 Mar 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Deportivo La Guaira are in among the leaders

Position 2 and 18 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.

Squad

Sebastián Castillo 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 Deportivo La Guaira this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Carlos Rivero

“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.

Match

Estudiantes de Caracas take the points off Deportivo La Guaira

Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Player ratings

The one thing Keiber Lamadrid could not do

Shots: 5, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.

Market

The Martín Gianoli talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Deportivo La Guaira know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Juan Carlos Castellano

Successful dribbles: 10. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Diego Osio has taken the shirt

At 32 he is in the side on merit and somebody else is watching from the bench. Places at Deportivo La Guaira are won quietly and lost loudly.

The terraces

The spotlight tightens on Jesús Vargas

Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.

In brief

136 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

5 Mar 2029
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

Whatever happens, Deportivo La Guaira do not lose

13 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.

Squad

Juan Reyes keeps Deportivo La Guaira in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Player ratings

Diego Osio shuts the door

Defensive actions: 25, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Squad

Cristopher Varela signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Cristopher Varela commits to Deportivo La Guaira for another 4 years.

Player ratings

Sebastián Castillo runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 23. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Carlos Rivero 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 Deportivo La Guaira this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Keiber Lamadrid

Marked 9.40 — 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.

Player ratings

Martín Gianoli shuts the door

Defensive actions: 21, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Match

Keiber Lamadrid sends Deportivo La Guaira past Carabobo

It finished 2‑0, and it was Keiber Lamadrid’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Deportivo La Guaira.

In brief

135 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

26 Feb 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

The small margins put Deportivo La Guaira out

Out, 1‑1 to Trujillanos, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.

Match

Whatever happens, Deportivo La Guaira do not lose

12 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.

Player ratings

Gonzalo Salega runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 24. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Tempers go at Deportivo La Guaira

Carlos Rivero 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 ratings

One of those days for Keiber Lamadrid

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.08, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Diego Osio

“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 ratings

The kick that got away from Víctor Saya

Twelve yards, a goalkeeper guessing, and it still did not go in. He will take the next one, and every soul in the ground will hold their breath.

Match

Deportivo La Guaira and Portuguesa take a point apiece

It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.

The terraces

The spotlight tightens on Junior Paredes

Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.

In brief

134 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

19 Feb 2029
From our football correspondent Triumph

Squad

César Salazar says Deportivo La Guaira went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Squad

Deportivo La Guaira count the cost of losing Cristopher Varela

15 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

Match

Deportivo La Guaira cannot stop winning

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.

Squad

Carlos Rivero 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 Deportivo La Guaira this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Deportivo La Guaira lose Jorge Gutiérrez

20 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Keiber Lamadrid

Marked 9.38 — 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.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Martín Gianoli

Defensive actions: 21. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Carlos Faya

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 20 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

Player ratings

Sebastián Castillo in the eights

A performance of 8.60 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

In brief

131 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

29 Jan 2029
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Carlos Faya

Defensive actions: 27. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Match

7 unbeaten for Deportivo La Guaira

Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 7 matches without defeat is a foundation Deportivo La Guaira did not have in the autumn.

Player ratings

Keiber Lamadrid runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

No hiding place for Junior Paredes

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Junior Paredes, and the manager let it.

Squad

Tempers go at Deportivo La Guaira

Juan Reyes 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 ratings

Genderson Ascanio shuts the door

Defensive actions: 16, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Match

No goals between Deportivo La Guaira and Caracas

Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Caracas will be the happier side with the point.

Market

Cristopher Varela linked with a move away

The name of Cristopher Varela keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Deportivo La Guaira say nothing, which says plenty.

Player ratings

Junior Paredes never got going

5.70 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.

In brief

127 Edition

The Deportivo La Guaira Gazette

1 Jan 2029
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Tempers go at Deportivo La Guaira

Carlos Rivero 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.

Squad

Juan Ron signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Juan Ron commits to Deportivo La Guaira for another 3 years.

Squad

Gonzalo Salega gets it from the manager

“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.

Market

Cristopher Varela linked with a move away

The name of Cristopher Varela keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Deportivo La Guaira say nothing, which says plenty.

Squad

A season on the outside for Keiber Lamadrid

He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Deportivo La Guaira has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.

Market

Talks stall between Deportivo La Guaira and Gonzalo Salega

“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.

In brief