The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad22 May 2028
Words at Metropolitanos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Saimon Ramírez 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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Juan Martinez after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Metropolitanos, and both men came out saying it was fine.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Metropolitanos this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Yolfran Caricote was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Agustín Bianciotti is on it.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Jesús Vargas’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Metropolitanos needing him to play as if none of it matters.
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Metropolitanos would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
In brief
Player ratingsJesús Vargas beats them one at a time
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.82 for the rest of it.
The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.
Francesco Lo Celso 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.
Marked 8.16 — 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.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Metropolitanos, another week without a signature from Agustín Bianciotti.
0‑4 against Academia Puerto Cabello, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
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.
Vitor Eudes and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Words at Metropolitanos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yolfran Caricote 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 supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑4, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
1‑4 against Anzoátegui, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Vitor Eudes 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.
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 it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
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.
32 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Metropolitanos lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
7.97, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Eduardo Alcides has his answer from Metropolitanos; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
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.
In brief
The dugoutSaimon Ramírez has become a man the manager trusts
40 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Metropolitanos lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Position 12 and 9 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Vitor Eudes 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.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Words at Metropolitanos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yolfran Caricote 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.
Something was said to Francesco Lo Celso and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Juan Martinez after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Agustín Bianciotti is on it.
49 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Metropolitanos lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Successful dribbles: 25. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Andrés Ferro and Metropolitanos agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Vitor Eudes 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.
Something was said to Vitor Eudes and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
The dugout6 Mar 2028
Vitor Eudes is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
65 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Metropolitanos lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
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.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Metropolitanos, another week without a signature from Agustín Bianciotti.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Juan Martinez after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Vitor Eudes 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Saimon Ramírez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Ismael Torres and Metropolitanos agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Saimon Ramírez is on it.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Metropolitanos know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
41 points from position 6. The title is somebody else’s business and the drop is somebody else’s problem; what is left is the argument about passports.
Metropolitanos offered $980.0K; UCV said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Vitor Eudes 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 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.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Metropolitanos would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
There is a level at which a footballer stops being tested and starts being contained, and he reached it some time ago. Metropolitanos know it, and so does everybody who watches him.
A season-long audition: River Plate still own him, but the shirt and the minutes are Metropolitanos's to give. A loan is a bet both clubs believe they are winning.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Metropolitanos. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
A new face in his position and a shirt he thought he owned suddenly up for discussion. Metropolitanos have promised nothing, which is what clubs promise at this stage.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Metropolitanos can pretend not to have heard.
The deal with Fluminense is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Metropolitanos can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
Andrés Ferro 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.
Squad27 Dec 2027
Words at Metropolitanos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tomás Parmo 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Atlético Mineiro have kept their man, and Metropolitanos go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Metropolitanos have made the call to Talleres. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Metropolitanos can pretend not to have heard.
Metropolitanos had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Talleres, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Francisco Manenti 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Bragantino have kept their man, and Metropolitanos go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
A loan enquiry to Atlético Mineiro: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Jesús Alvarado has his answer from Metropolitanos; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
In brief
The dugoutSaimon Ramírez has become a man the manager trusts
“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 Metropolitanos, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Metropolitanos this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tomás Parmo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boca Juniors have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Operário Ferroviário have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Cleiderman Osorio has his answer from Metropolitanos; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
In brief
The dugoutSneider Navarro has become a man the manager trusts
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tomás Parmo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Kavier Ortiz 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.
Nobody at Metropolitanos 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.
Position 6, 41 points, and a run-in that decides whether next season has Thursday nights in it. Nobody is calling it a race yet, which is what people say during one.
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Andrés Ferro wants continental football; whether Metropolitanos can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
Francisco Manenti 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.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Words at Metropolitanos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tomás Parmo 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 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.
41 points from position 6. The title is somebody else’s business and the drop is somebody else’s problem; what is left is the argument about passports.
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.
José Riasco 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 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Metropolitanos have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Francisco Manenti 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.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Words at Metropolitanos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tomás Parmo 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.
Something was said to Francisco Manenti and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
Nobody at Metropolitanos 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Metropolitanos this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tomás Parmo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Temperley have kept their man, and Metropolitanos go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
At 20 he was better than everybody his age in the division for four weeks running, which is harder than one good afternoon. Metropolitanos will try not to make too much of it.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Jeremías Florentín is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
Nobody at Metropolitanos 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Metropolitanos this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Words at Metropolitanos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tomás Parmo 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.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Saimon Ramírez is on it.
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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Metropolitanos know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
They sit in position 8 and they will be waiting. Away form is where a season shows its true character, and this side has a point to make about its own.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Yhonatann Yustiz and Metropolitanos agree another 2 years.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Metropolitanos know it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Metropolitanos this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Zamora left with the points after a 2‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Tomás Parmo 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Juan Manuel Rengifo has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
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.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Saimon Ramírez provided it, and the 8.21 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Francisco Manenti and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Player ratings1 Mar 2027
Kavier Ortiz was on a different afternoon to everybody else
9.96. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
In brief
MatchKavier Ortiz among the goals in a wild afternoon
SquadGeorge Ayine falls out with a teammate over standards
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Javier Giménez has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
Francisco Manenti 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 paperwork is done long before the player is. Luis El Khuffash has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Metropolitanos have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Junior Rondon has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Darwin Savarino has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Oscar Gonzalez has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.