It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Almería this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Agustín Ortega is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Daijiro Chirino was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The board was up, the win was priced in, and then Gijón scored. There is no worse minute to concede in and the ground emptied in the silence that follows one.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Almería can pretend not to have heard.
David Alaba 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.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Stefan Džodić is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
$380.0K was the most the club would pay and Cádiz were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Almería have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
At 35 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.16 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
7.94, 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.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Almería close the window on a squad of their own making
25 in and 6 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
David Alaba 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.
$380.0K on the table at Cádiz. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Facinet Conté is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Daijiro Chirino was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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 Almería hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Almería is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
At 23 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Squad30 Aug 2027
André Horta has improved at 30, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Cádiz have kept their man, and Almería go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Words at Almería training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. André Horta 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 dugout30 Aug 2027
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 1‑2 defeat, delivered by Diego Bravo to a room that had heard them before.
Two goals and a mark of 8.98 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The clubs have shaken hands with Osasuna; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
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 7.99 for the rest 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 Almería this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
6 goals in one match, Ibrahima Koné on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Almería and Huesca.
At 21 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
The clubs have shaken hands with Osasuna; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
“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 Almería, and it is not being withdrawn.
David Alaba 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.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Almería asked and Cruzeiro said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Words at Almería training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Federico Bonini 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Brian Cipenga trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Jon Morcillo signs something — a contract at Almería or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The chase for Asier Villalibre ended with $2.4M changing hands and Racing Santander out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Almería asked and Osasuna said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
At 22 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
David Alaba 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.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Almería have done the hard part with Racing Santander, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Corinthians is saying, and nobody at Almería is enjoying the guessing.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Damián González Hernández will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Almería the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Almería this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Almería asked and Standard Liege said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Federico Bonini was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 17 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
Almería have made the call to Corinthians. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
In brief
The dugoutJorge Pulido asks for a word with the manager
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Almería can pretend not to have heard.
David Alaba 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.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Valladolid will make the call about Nicolás Franco this week. Almería have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Jon Morcillo signs something — a contract at Almería or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Nobody at Almería 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.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Daijiro Chirino plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.
“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 Almería, and it is not being withdrawn.
“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.
David Alaba 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.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Iván Rey 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.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Andrés 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.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Words at Almería training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Davinchi 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.
Squad12 Jul 2027
10 new faces, and Almería are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Almería. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Almería they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Nicolás Pascual is 15, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
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.
7 arrivals, an average age nobody would call a squad, and a set of parents being shown around a building their sons will spend more time in than at home. The scouting has already happened; today is only the paperwork.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Almería this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 19 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
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.
At 26 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
A season-long look at somebody else’s player: Davinchi arrives from Getafe with something to prove and a return ticket in the drawer. Good loans make everybody richer; this one starts Saturday.
The chase for Alejandro Marqués ended with $4.0M changing hands and Granada out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Facinet Conté is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
David Alaba 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. KAA Gent have kept their man, and Almería go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Álex Muñoz was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Nicolás Franco has his answer from Almería; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Almería will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
The deal with Granada 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.
The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Sergio Arribas was one of the reasons people came, and $29.7M does not replace that by itself.
David Alaba 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Brian Cipenga and Almería agree another 4 years.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Words at Almería training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daijiro Chirino 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.
Almería asked and Cruz Azul said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Adrián Embarba has his answer from Almería; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Raúl Parra 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.
$15.5M on the table at Castellón. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Almería asked and Castellón said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“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 Almería, and it is not being withdrawn.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Almería have done the hard part with Lugano, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
“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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Almería this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
0‑2 to Cádiz, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad31 May 2027
Álex Muñoz 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 dugout31 May 2027
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 Diego Bravo left the room before anybody could ask which.
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
David Alaba 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.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Almería and Córdoba, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Marked 9.58 — 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.
Squad24 May 2027
Words at Almería training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daijiro Chirino is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Marked 8.05 — 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.
Successful dribbles: 16. 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 dugout24 May 2027
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Diego Bravo, on a 4‑2 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
David Alaba 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 Daijiro Chirino was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Diego Bravo after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Damián González Hernández will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Almería the goodbyes have quietly begun.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Jaime Gallardo 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and André Horta was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
8.01. 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.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 1‑0, Diego Bravo could afford to be generous.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Almería this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Agustín Ortega has, at Almería, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Squad3 May 2027
Words at Almería training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daijiro Chirino 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.
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout3 May 2027
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 Diego Bravo left the room before anybody could ask which.
David Alaba 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.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Words at Almería training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daijiro Chirino 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 not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Almería told Sergio Arribas something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Diego Bravo after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Nobody at Almería is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Sergio Arribas signs something — a contract at Almería or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
David Alaba 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 finished 2‑1, and it was André Horta’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Almería.
Squad19 Apr 2027
André Horta 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.
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.
Player ratings19 Apr 2027
Sergio Arribas was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.09. 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.
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 players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑1, Diego Bravo could afford to be generous.
18 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
Sergio Arribas had done his part in building a 2-goal cushion. What happened after that was collective, and Málaga were allowed back into a match that had been finished with.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.87 at 34, and nobody on the pitch was better.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Damián González Hernández 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.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Miguel De la Fuente and Almería agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Almería this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Damián González Hernández will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Almería the goodbyes have quietly begun.
In brief
SquadWords at Almería training over how hard people work
13 goals and a season average of 7.33 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Words at Almería training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daijiro Chirino 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.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Almería pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
17 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
David Alaba 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.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Words at Almería training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. André Horta 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.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Brian Cipenga, and the manager let it.
Squad29 Mar 2027
5 new faces, and Almería are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
Jon Morcillo had done his part in building a 2-goal cushion. What happened after that was collective, and Leganés were allowed back into a match that had been finished with.
David Alaba 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.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Words at Almería training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daijiro Chirino 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 run ends on an afternoon somebody had marked down as routine. This one went 13 matches, which is long enough that a town had stopped counting, and short enough that it will remember exactly who stopped it.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Almería have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Almería this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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 were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Diego Bravo after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
15 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Tomás Montero is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Squad8 Mar 2027
André Horta 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.
Minute 93, against Deportivo La Coruña, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
David Alaba 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.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Words at Almería training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daijiro Chirino 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.
Squad1 Mar 2027
6 new faces, and Almería are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
“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.
Successful dribbles: 13. 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.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Granada? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 4‑0 against Real Sociedad B, and it could have been more.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
A brace, and Jon Morcillo takes the afternoon — 9.02
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Jon Morcillo provided it, and the 9.02 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
14 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Almería have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.19 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
David Alaba 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.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Words at Almería training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daijiro Chirino is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Almería this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Almería, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Arvin Appiah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Diego Bravo was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Almería dressing room was either.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Almería can pretend not to have heard.
13 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: KV Oostende keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
David Alaba and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Words at Almería training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daijiro Chirino is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Andrés Fernández is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
He has had enough of the noise. Whether Almería can be a quieter place for him, or whether the only cure is a move somewhere the phone-ins are gentler, is a question for the next few months.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Mallorca waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Almería is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Sergio Arribas reports back to Almería with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
“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 Almería, and it is not being withdrawn.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.82 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Almería close the window on a squad of their own making
5 in and 2 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
David Alaba 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.
4 straight away victories. Sides that win away are usually sides that can defend and can counter, and the table has begun to reflect what those journeys have earned.
In brief
SquadDaijiro Chirino falls out with a teammate over standards
1 for André Horta, marked 7.76, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Real Madrid have kept their man, and Almería go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Sergio Arribas provided it, and the 8.22 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
The deal with Real Madrid 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.
4 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.
Jon Morcillo 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.
500 games in these colours. Service of that kind gets rarer every season, and the crowd knows it.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words at Almería training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daijiro Chirino 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. Venezia have kept their man, and Almería go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 94th minute. Albacete will replay every second of the added time for a week.
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.
Jon Morcillo 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Eduardo Peña is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Luciano Cingolani is living that version at Almería, and it tends to show in the first month.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Almería this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Add another name to the list: Getafe have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Gui. The answer from Almería has not changed — yet.
Almería asked and Córdoba said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Almería has been clear about where Sergio Arribas stands, which is more than many ever get.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and André Horta was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
In brief
Player ratingsJon Morcillo was on a different afternoon to everybody else
Player ratingsSergio Arribas was on a different afternoon to everybody else
Villarreal go through and Almería go home, 2‑2 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Fernando: 1 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
“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 Almería hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Mikel Vesga 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.
Three points for Almería, 1‑0 the final word against Córdoba in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad28 Dec 2026
André Horta 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.
A point taken on 120 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.
“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 Almería, and it is not being withdrawn.
Jon Morcillo 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.
10 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
Squad21 Dec 2026
André Horta 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 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.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Rodrigo Ely has his answer from Almería; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Diego Bravo after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
0‑3 against Racing Santander, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
The first defeat in 15 matches. The manager will say it had to come; the dressing room will say it did not have to come against Racing Santander; the supporters will say both, in that order, all week.
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.
Jon Morcillo 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.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mikel Vesga, and the manager let it.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Words at Almería training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. André Horta 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
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 7.93 for the rest 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 Almería this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
9 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and André Horta was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and André Horta was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Diego Bravo was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Almería dressing room was either.
2 in front and in complete control, and it finished with Las Palmas the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that Almería will enjoy reviewing.
Jon Morcillo 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.
8 matches unbeaten here. Every visiting manager is asked about it in the week before, which is precisely why it keeps going.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Words at Almería training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. André Horta 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.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Javi Muñoz was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.23. 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Almería have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
6.88, 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.
Jon Morcillo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and André Horta was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Behind, and beaten by any honest reading, until minute 89. Málaga had the points in their pocket and a corner of the ground still believed, which is generally when it happens.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Almería has been clear about where Wilfredo Olivera stands, which is more than many ever get.
3 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.
Two goals and a mark of 9.21 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Mikel Vesga 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Marcos Luna 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 spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Jon Herrero is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
André Horta 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.
At 21 he was better than everybody his age in the division for four weeks running, which is harder than one good afternoon. Almería will try not to make too much of it.
6 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Almería, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“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 Almería, and it is not being withdrawn.
Two goals and a mark of 8.17 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Adrián Embarba 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 André Horta was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
100 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
The board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 91th minute. Castellón will replay every second of the added time for a week.
Jon Morcillo 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.
At 21 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Three points for Almería, 1‑0 the final word against Castellón in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad19 Oct 2026
André Horta 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.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Diego Bravo on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
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.
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Federico Bonini scored, was marked 7.83, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Almería this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Nicolás Sierra 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.
A goal on 93 minutes turned three points into one and a good afternoon into an argument about game management that will run until Saturday.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Javi Muñoz's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and André Horta was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
11 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.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Diego Bravo after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
“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.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
A brace, and Jon Morcillo takes the afternoon — 9.10
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Jon Morcillo provided it, and the 9.10 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Almería this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A 3‑1 win over Real Sociedad B, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
50 goals for the club, every one of them filed away in the memory of a supporter somewhere.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Jorge Pulido falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“Nobody 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.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words at Almería training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Arvin Appiah 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 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.
Damián González Hernández arrives at 37 with nothing left to prove and plenty left to pass on. Legs are a young man's currency; knowing where to stand never ages.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Valladolid? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Almería. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
At 34 he has taken a place rather than been given one, and somebody else has to find something to say about it. Almería have a decision that made itself.
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Adrián Embarba reports back to Almería with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.90 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
1 for André Horta, marked 7.87, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
“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.
Javi Muñoz 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.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Ismael Gallardo 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.
In brief
SquadWords at Almería training over how hard people work
Fee agreed, terms agreed, and a scan that said otherwise. He goes back to Córdoba; Almería go back to the market; and both will insist there is no story here.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Espanyol have kept their man, and Almería go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Almería close the window on a squad of their own making
16 in and 2 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and André Horta was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A performance of 8.09 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad7 Sep 2026
9 new faces, and Almería are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
Celta paid $16.2M and Almería took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Álex Muñoz had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
Nico Melamed has gone, the accounts have $16.2M in them, and the supporters have the feeling of having been sold something themselves. Good business and a good decision are not always the same thing.
Leganés paid $1.8M and Almería took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Jon Morcillo 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.
Almería asked and Cruz Azul said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Almería offered $26.7M; Betis 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Minnesota United FC have kept their man, and Almería go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and André Horta was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.35, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Sergio Arribas was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.22. 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Almería this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Deportivo La Coruña will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Jonatan Goya has pre-agreed a move to Almería, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
Almería asked and Huracán said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad17 Aug 2026
André Horta 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.
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Almería will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
Huesca next, and one man in the Almería dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
What was a back-page story is now a matter for the terraces, and the terraces do not do nuance. Almería would like it dealt with before it becomes the only question anybody asks.
Almería have gone to Betis 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.
Almería have gone to Las Palmas 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.
Léo Baptistão 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.
Almería asked and Club America said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Marc Duran 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.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Felipe Medina 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.
“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 Almería hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Almería have gone to Independiente 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.
Almería asked and Rosario Central said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Mikel Vesga 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.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words at Almería training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Léo Baptistão 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.
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Almería will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Still no offer on the table, and Mikel Vesga’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.
In brief
Transfer targetsA loan move for José Raúl Zúñiga is in the works