Alavés U18

Spanish La Liga U18
15 Feb 2027
Monday
Process
28 Edition

The Alavés Sentinel

8 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

PSV come back empty-handed

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

Match

4 matches without a win for Alavés

The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Alavés are no longer polite ones.

Squad

Abde signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Abde commits to Alavés for another 4 years.

Squad

A row about effort at Alavés

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ander Guevara was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad

Andrea Adorante 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 Alavés this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

Alavés promote Julen León from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Julen León 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.

Market

Ibai Jiménez steps up from the Alavés academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Ibai Jiménez 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.

Player ratings

Antonio Blanco was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 15. 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 dugout

The manager makes an example of Facundo Garcés

“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.

In brief

Back issues
27 Edition

The Alavés Sentinel

1 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Celta punish Alavés for switching off

2 goals to the good, and then a slow surrender of everything that had been earned. Facundo Garcés will not be the one blamed for it, but nobody at Alavés escapes the conversation that follows a collapse like this.

Market

Alavés say no — this time

The offer from Espanyol for Mikel Rodríguez 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

Up for the corner, and Facundo Garcés delivers — 7.57

Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Facundo Garcés scored, was marked 7.57, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.

Player ratings

Antonio Blanco pops up at the right end — 7.87

7.87, 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.

Boardroom

Deadline passes with 6 signed and 1 gone

That is the business done at Alavés until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.

Market

Lucas Boyé wants to know where this is going

“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Alavés hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.

Market

PSV join the queue for Yusi

Add another name to the list: PSV have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Yusi. The answer from Alavés has not changed — yet.

Squad

Ander Guevara 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.

Squad

Tempers go at Alavés

Denis Suárez 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

26 Edition

The Alavés Sentinel

25 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Raúl Fernández 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 Alavés can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Words exchanged at Alavés

Ander Guevara 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.

Squad

Words at Alavés training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Antonio Blanco 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.

Match

A bad afternoon for Alavés against Mallorca

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

The dugout

The manager’s verdict

“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Aimar Diez left the room before anybody could ask which.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Mikel Rodríguez

“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 Antonio Blanco story refuses to die

It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Antonio Blanco signs something — a contract at Alavés or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.

The dugout

Nicolás Valentini 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 Alavés, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Player ratings

Carles Aleñá 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

25 Edition

The Alavés Sentinel

18 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Antonio Sivera

There were 12 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.

Market

Mikel Rodríguez attracts admirers

The name of Mikel Rodríguez has come up in conversations Alavés were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.

Squad

A row about effort at Alavés

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Antonio Blanco was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad

A falling-out at Alavés

Denis Suárez and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Match

A bad afternoon for Alavés against Betis

0‑2 to Betis, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

The dugout

Nicolás Valentini 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.

The dugout

The manager’s verdict

“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑2 Aimar Diez left the room before anybody could ask which.

Squad

Alavés are still strangers to each other

5 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.

The dugout

A promise honoured for Miguel Rodríguez

It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Alavés told Miguel Rodríguez something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.

In brief

24 Edition

The Alavés Sentinel

11 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Player ratings

Lucas Boyé scores twice — 9.09

Two goals and a mark of 9.09 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.

Match

At last: Alavés win one

11 matches without a win, and then this, against Oviedo. Relief is a strange noise in a football ground and it was the only noise at the end.

Squad

Agustín Heredia arrives at the club he grew up with

Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Agustín Heredia has, at Alavés, and the first month will show what that does to a man.

Squad

Ander Guevara 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 Alavés this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The dugout

No hiding place for Toni Martínez

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

Match

Alavés get the job done against Oviedo

A 2‑0 win over Oviedo, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

Market

Alavés promote Fernando Fernández from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Fernando Fernández 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.

Squad

Words at Alavés training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Miguel Rodríguez 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.

Market

Alavés may not be able to give Gustavo Albarracín what he wants

It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Gustavo Albarracín wants continental football; whether Alavés can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.

In brief

23 Edition

The Alavés Sentinel

4 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

The wait goes on for Alavés

11 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.

Squad

11 saves: Antonio Sivera was the team

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 11 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.

Squad

Tempers go at Alavés

Ander Guevara 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

A bad afternoon for Alavés against Sevilla

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

Market

Iván Sandoval wants European nights

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.

Squad

A row about effort at Alavés

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Facundo Garcés was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

The view from the dugout

“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Aimar Diez to a room that had heard them before.

Squad

Emanuel Cuevas signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Emanuel Cuevas commits to Alavés for another 3 years.

Transfer targets

Alavés try to borrow Nuno Santos

Mamelodi Sundowns 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.

In brief

22 Edition

The Alavés Sentinel

28 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

No end in sight to Alavés's wait for a win

10 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Alavés has to find a result from somewhere.

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Antonio Sivera

There were 9 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

A row about effort at Alavés

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ander Guevara was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad

Words exchanged at Alavés

Denis Suárez 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.

Match

Alavés are shipping goals every week

Two or more conceded in each of the last 4 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.

Player ratings

One of those days for Andrea Adorante

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.11, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

The dugout

No hiding place for Miguel Rodríguez

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

Match

Alavés refuse to lose to Villarreal

A point taken on 96 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.

Match

Halfway: Alavés sit in position 12

21 points at the turn. The first half of a season is a promise; the second is a bill, and the town is about to find out which of the two this one was.

In brief

21 Edition

The Alavés Sentinel

21 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

9 matches without a win for Alavés

The run now stands at 9, and the questions being asked around Alavés are no longer polite ones.

Player ratings

A brace, and Lucas Boyé takes the afternoon — 9.44

There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Lucas Boyé provided it, and the 9.44 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.

Match

Lucas Boyé’s goal not enough for Alavés

Lucas Boyé scored, and precious little else went right: 3‑4 to Osasuna, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.

Match

Nobody could stop scoring

7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Alavés and Osasuna in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.

Squad

Ander Guevara 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.

Squad

A falling-out at Alavés

Andrea Adorante and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Player ratings

Ninety minutes of Andrea Adorante at his very best

Marked 8.92. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Alavés.

The dugout

Pablo Ibañez 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.

The dugout

Aimar Diez: “No excuses”

“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 3‑4, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.

In brief

20 Edition

The Alavés Sentinel

14 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Antonio Sivera keeps Alavés in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 11 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Match

A 3-goal lead gone for Alavés

It is a specific kind of quiet, a ground watching a winning position dissolve. Athletic Bilbao kept coming because nothing stopped them, and Alavés will be asked about the last half hour all week.

Match

No end in sight to Alavés's wait for a win

8 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Alavés has to find a result from somewhere.

Player ratings

Lucas Boyé scores twice — 9.14

Two goals and a mark of 9.14 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.

Squad

Denis Suárez 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 Alavés this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

Ibai Ramírez steps up from the Alavés academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Ibai Ramírez 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.

Player ratings

One of those days for Denis Suárez

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.02, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

The dugout

Nicolás Valentini 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

Alavés and Athletic Bilbao take a point apiece

It finished 3‑3, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.

In brief

  • Squad A row about effort at Alavés
  • The dugout The view from the dugout
  • The dugout Toni Martínez does not fit this one
19 Edition

The Alavés Sentinel

7 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Alavés taken apart

0‑4 to Barcelona, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.

Squad

Antonio Sivera keeps Alavés 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

No end in sight to Alavés's wait for a win

7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Alavés has to find a result from somewhere.

Squad

A row about effort at Alavés

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Antonio Blanco was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad

Tempers go at Alavés

Denis Suárez 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

The goals have deserted Alavés

3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Alavés can tell you which week it ends in.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Antonio Sivera

“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

Facundo Garcés has his eye on Europe

It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Alavés can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.

Boardroom

Nobody left the Alavés 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.

In brief

18 Edition

The Alavés Sentinel

30 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

6 matches without a win for Alavés

The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Alavés are no longer polite ones.

Player ratings

Carles Aleñá beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 25. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Market

Lucas Boyé wants European nights

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.

Squad

Words exchanged at Alavés

Ander Guevara 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.

Squad

Words at Alavés training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Antonio Blanco 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 dugout

The manager makes an example of Carlos Benavídez

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

The dugout

Aimar Diez: “We have to be better”

“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.

The dugout

Miguel Rodríguez 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 Miguel Rodríguez trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

Market

Lucas Boyé linked with a move away

The name of Lucas Boyé keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Alavés say nothing, which says plenty.

In brief

17 Edition

The Alavés Sentinel

23 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

A hiding for Alavés

Beaten 0‑4 by Espanyol, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.

Match

The wait goes on for Alavés

5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.

Squad

A falling-out at Alavés

Ander Guevara and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Player ratings

Miguel Rodríguez was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 20. 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.

Squad

Ander Guevara reaches 200 appearances

200 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.

Boardroom

Nobody left the Alavés 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.

The dugout

Aimar Diez: “No excuses”

“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑4, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Facundo Garcés

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

The terraces

Everybody has an opinion about Antonio Sivera

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.

In brief

16 Edition

The Alavés Sentinel

16 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

10 saves: Antonio Sivera was the team

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 10 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.

Match

4 matches without a win for Alavés

The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Alavés are no longer polite ones.

Squad

A row about effort at Alavés

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ander Guevara was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad

Denis Suárez 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 Alavés this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Lucas Boyé in the eights

A performance of 8.00 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

The dugout

Jon Pacheco 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

Rayo Vallecano snatch it back from Alavés

A goal on 92 minutes turned three points into one and a good afternoon into an argument about game management that will run until Saturday.

The dugout

Toni Martínez 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 Toni Martínez trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

Match

Lucas Boyé rescues a point for Alavés

It needed Lucas Boyé to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Rayo Vallecano, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.

In brief

15 Edition

The Alavés Sentinel

9 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Antonio Sivera keeps Alavés in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 16 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Match

Chastening afternoon for Alavés

A 0‑5 beating by Real Madrid was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.

Match

Alavés bow out of the cup

Betis go through and Alavés go home, 0‑1 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.

Player ratings

Naim García runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 25. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Antonio Blanco 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 Alavés this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

A row about effort at Alavés

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Carles Aleñá was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Ander Guevara

“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

Alavés promote Izei Camacho from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Izei Camacho 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.

Market

Alavés promote Alberto Gil from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Alberto Gil 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.

In brief

  • Boardroom Nobody left the Alavés dressing room in a hurry
  • The dugout Aimar Diez faces the questions
  • The dugout Antonio Sivera gets picked when it counts
14 Edition

The Alavés Sentinel

2 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

A hiding for Alavés

Beaten 1‑11 by Real Sociedad, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.

Squad

11 past Antonio Sivera

Whether it was the goalkeeper or the ten in front of him is the argument that will fill every conversation in town this week. 5 saves does not settle it either way.

The dugout

Mario Maroto: 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.” Alavés have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Market

Lucas Boyé wants more than Alavés are offering

“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.

Match

12 goals as Alavés and Real Sociedad go for it

Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 12 goals between Alavés and Real Sociedad, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.

Squad

Carles Aleñá 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.

Squad

Miguel Rodríguez 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 Alavés this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Denis Suárez

Marked 8.00 — 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.

The dugout

Pablo Ibañez 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

  • Boardroom Nobody left the Alavés dressing room in a hurry
  • The dugout Aimar Diez faces the questions
  • Looking ahead The leaders are next for Alavés
13 Edition

The Alavés Sentinel

26 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

Alavés run riot against Valencia

4‑0, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.

Player ratings

Lucas Boyé scores twice — 9.27

Two goals and a mark of 9.27 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.

Player ratings

Both of them Antonio Blanco's — 8.26

2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.26, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.

The dugout

Naim García keeps the receipts

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

Squad

Words at Alavés training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ander Guevara 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.

Squad

A falling-out at Alavés

Denis Suárez and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Player ratings

Andrea Adorante in the eights

A performance of 8.43 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

The dugout

No hiding place for Nicolás Valentini

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

Squad

Alavés are still strangers to each other

18 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.

In brief

12 Edition

The Alavés Sentinel

19 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

The dugout

Nicolás Valentini keeps the receipts

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

Squad

Ander Guevara 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 Alavés this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Miguel Rodríguez 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.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Toni Martínez

Marked 8.23 — 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

Adrián Núñez signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Adrián Núñez commits to Alavés for another 3 years.

Player ratings

Miguel Rodríguez beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 15. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Match

Alavés share the spoils with Girona

A 1‑1 draw with Girona leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.

The dugout

Half-satisfied: Aimar Diez on the draw

“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.

The dugout

Raúl Fernández 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

11 Edition

The Alavés Sentinel

12 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Tempers go at Alavés

Ander Guevara 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

Yusi signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Yusi commits to Alavés for another 5 years.

Match

Atlético Madrid take the points off Alavés

Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

The dugout

Aimar Diez faces the questions

“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Aimar Diez after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Mikel Rodríguez

“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

Mario Maroto 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.

Player ratings

Lucas Boyé beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 13. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

The dugout

The form table has caught Emiliano Ellacopulos

Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.

The dugout

Miguel Rodríguez 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

10 Edition

The Alavés Sentinel

5 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

Alavés strike at the death to beat Elche

There were 89 minutes on the clock and Elche had all but banked the point. Football rarely reads the room, and Alavés did not stop to explain themselves.

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Antonio Sivera

There were 6 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

A row about effort at Alavés

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ander Guevara was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad

Words exchanged at Alavés

Denis Suárez 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.

Match

Alavés find a way past Elche

Elche made Alavés work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.

The terraces

Alavés supporters have found a favourite in Mario Maroto

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Mario Maroto 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.

Market

Facundo Garcés has his eye on Europe

It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Alavés can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.

Player ratings

Antonio Blanco was on a different afternoon to everybody else

8.15. 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.

Player ratings

Abde was on a different afternoon to everybody else

8.02. 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

9 Edition

The Alavés Sentinel

28 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Antonio Sivera

There were 6 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.

Player ratings

Yusi, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 7.64

A mark of 7.64 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.

Market

Alavés may not be able to give Lucas Boyé what he wants

It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Lucas Boyé wants continental football; whether Alavés can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.

Squad

A falling-out at Alavés

Ander Guevara and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Antonio Blanco 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.

Match

Alavés find a way past Getafe

Getafe made Alavés work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Toni Martínez

Marked 8.06 — 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.

The dugout

No hiding place for Jon Pacheco

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

Squad

Alavés are still strangers to each other

17 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.

In brief

8 Edition

The Alavés Sentinel

21 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Tempers go at Alavés

Antonio Blanco 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 dugout

No hiding place for Antonio Sivera

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

Match

Alavés come up short against Celta

Celta left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Squad

Facundo Garcés falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

The dugout

The manager’s verdict

“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 1‑2 Aimar Diez left the room before anybody could ask which.

Squad

Antonio Sivera has had enough of the noise

The ambition story running backwards, and the one nobody tells: a footballer who wants a smaller ground, fewer cameras and a crowd that does not turn. It is not weakness and it is rarely reported as anything else.

Player ratings

Carles Aleñá beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 13. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

The dugout

The form table has caught Jonny

Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.

Looking ahead

Carles Aleñá faces his old club

Getafe next, and one man in the Alavés dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.

In brief

7 Edition

The Alavés Sentinel

14 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

Antonio Blanco wins it after the whistle should have gone

97 minutes played. Antonio Blanco found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and Mallorca went from a point to nothing inside one movement.

Market

Mariano turns St. Pauli down

“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.

Player ratings

Hugo Novoa was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 29. 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.

Player ratings

Antonio Blanco goes up and wins it — 7.76

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 7.76 for the rest of it.

Squad

Words at Alavés training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ander Guevara 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.

Squad

Jon Pacheco 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 Alavés this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Antonio Blanco sends Alavés past Mallorca

It finished 2‑1, and it was Antonio Blanco’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Alavés.

The terraces

One of their own: Gustavo Albarracín

He is 20 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.

The dugout

No hiding place for Emiliano Ellacopulos

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

In brief

6 Edition

The Alavés Sentinel

7 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Antonio Sivera stands alone

9 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.

Match

Lucas Boyé wins it after the whistle should have gone

90 minutes played. Lucas Boyé found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and Betis went from a point to nothing inside one movement.

Player ratings

Antonio Blanco goes up and wins it — 7.95

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 7.95 for the rest of it.

Boardroom

Window shuts: 22 in, 1 out at Alavés

The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 22 arrived, 1 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.

Market

Mariano attracts admirers

The name of Mariano has come up in conversations Alavés were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.

Squad

A row about effort at Alavés

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ander Guevara was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad

Words exchanged at Alavés

Denis Suárez 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.

Match

Lucas Boyé sends Alavés past Betis

It finished 2‑1, and it was Lucas Boyé’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Alavés.

The terraces

Alavés supporters have found a favourite in Miguel Rodríguez

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Miguel Rodríguez 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.

In brief

5 Edition

The Alavés Sentinel

31 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Barcelona come back empty-handed

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

Squad

A falling-out at Alavés

Ander Guevara and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Match

Alavés refuse to lose to Oviedo

A point taken on 88 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.

Squad

A row about effort at Alavés

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Facundo Garcés was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad

Too much change too quickly at Alavés

15 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.

Match

Alavés and Oviedo 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

Denis Suárez was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 14. 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 dugout

Half-satisfied: Aimar Diez on the draw

“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.

The dugout

Emiliano Ellacopulos dropped after a run of poor form

The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.

In brief

4 Edition

The Alavés Sentinel

24 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Antonio Sivera

There were 12 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.

Transfer targets

Alavés baulk at the price for Ezequiel Ávila

Betis wanted more than $1.3M and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.

Transfer targets

No thanks: Guille Bueno rejects the move

Alavés had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Valladolid, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.

Market

Barcelona watching Yusi

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

Squad

A row about effort at Alavés

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ander Guevara was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad

Denis Suárez 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 Alavés this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Izan Merino

Alavés asked and Málaga said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Match

Sevilla take the points off Alavés

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

The dugout

No hiding place for Jon Pacheco

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

In brief

3 Edition

The Alavés Sentinel

17 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Alavés sell Nahuel Tenaglia for $5.7M

Nahuel Tenaglia has left for Sparta Prague in a $5.7M deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.

Squad

Tempers go at Alavés

Ander Guevara 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.

Transfer targets

Sarmiento tell Alavés: Michael Hoyos is not for sale

The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.

Transfer targets

Alavés try to borrow Guille Bueno

Valladolid 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.

Squad

The formation has left Andrea Adorante behind

Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Alavés will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.

Squad

A row about effort at Alavés

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Hugo Novoa was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Boardroom

No investment in the facilities at Alavés

Nothing about this will be in a press release. A plan went upstairs, came back rejected, and the version of the club that would have existed in three years' time just quietly stopped being possible.

Market

Emiliano Ellacopulos brings the grey hairs Alavés lacked

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

Looking ahead

A reunion for Denis Suárez

He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Sevilla in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.

In brief

2 Edition

The Alavés Sentinel

10 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Transfer targets

An offer of $54.0M for Dani Vivian

Alavés have gone to Athletic Bilbao with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.

Market

Alavés say no — this time

The offer from Olympique de Marseille for Antonio Sivera 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.

Market

Not going: Mariano stays at Alavés

“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” St. Pauli had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.

Squad

Lucas Boyé signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Lucas Boyé and Alavés agree another 4 years.

Squad

A falling-out at Alavés

Ander Guevara and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Market

Alavés promote Mateo González from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Mateo González 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.

Market

Luis Giménez steps up from the Alavés academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Luis Giménez 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.

Transfer targets

A loan move for Andrea Adorante is in the works

Alavés have made the call to Venezia. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.

Transfer targets

Alavés try to borrow Izan Merino

Málaga 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.

In brief

1 Edition

The Alavés Sentinel

3 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Alavés turn down PAOK for Nahuel Tenaglia

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

Market

Antonio Sivera attracts admirers

The name of Antonio Sivera has come up in conversations Alavés were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.

Market

Lucas Boyé wants to know where this is going

“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Alavés hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.

Squad

Antonio Sivera stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Antonio Sivera and Alavés agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

A falling-out at Alavés

Antonio Blanco and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Words at Alavés training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ander Guevara 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.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Nicolás Barros Schelotto

Alavés asked and Gimnasia La Plata said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Market

Alavés may not be able to give Facundo Garcés what he wants

It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Facundo Garcés wants continental football; whether Alavés can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.

Squad

Too much change too quickly at Alavés

12 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.

In brief