3 Jan 2027
Sunday
Process
22 Edition

The Almería Gazette

28 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

Almería bow out of the cup

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.

Squad

Fernando is the hero from the spot

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.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Brian Cipenga

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

Market

Sergio Arribas 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 Almería hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.

Squad

Tempers go at Almería

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.

Match

Almería see off Córdoba

Three points for Almería, 1‑0 the final word against Córdoba in a contest settled by the finer margins.

Squad

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.

Player ratings

Ninety minutes of Miguel De la Fuente at his very best

Marked 8.15. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Almería.

Match

Almería refuse to lose to Villarreal

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.

In brief

Back issues
21 Edition

The Almería Gazette

21 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Sergio Arribas puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Almería, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Words exchanged at Almería

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.

Match

Almería make home a hard place to visit

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.

Squad

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.

Squad

Mikel Vesga 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

Adrián Embarba runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Market

No place for Rodrigo Ely in the plan

“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.

The dugout

No hiding place for Brian Cipenga

“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.

The dugout

Diego Bravo on the point

“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.

In brief

20 Edition

The Almería Gazette

14 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Nowhere to hide for Almería

0‑3 against Racing Santander, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.

Match

After 15 games, Almería finally taste it again

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.

Squad

Andrés Fernández keeps Almería in it on his own

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

Squad

Tempers go at Almería

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.

The dugout

No hiding place for Mikel Vesga

“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.

Squad

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.

Squad

Diego Jiménez signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Diego Jiménez commits to Almería for another 1 years.

Boardroom

Doors closed at Almería

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

The dugout

Diego Bravo: “No excuses”

“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑3, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.

In brief

19 Edition

The Almería Gazette

7 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

15 unbeaten for Almería

Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 15 matches without defeat is a foundation Almería did not have in the autumn.

The dugout

Rodrigo Ely keeps the receipts

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

Squad

6 saves: Andrés Fernández was the team

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.

Player ratings

André Horta goes up and wins it — 7.93

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.

Squad

Jon Morcillo 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 Almería this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Nobody wins at Almería

9 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.

Match

André Horta sends Almería past Gijón

It finished 1‑0, and it was André Horta’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Almería.

Squad

A row about effort at Almería

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.

Squad

A step back for Brian Cipenga at Almería

Somebody has moved past him. It is not a dropping and it is worse than one, because a dropping is about a Saturday and this is about where he stands.

In brief

  • The dugout No hiding place for Gui
  • The dugout The manager’s verdict
  • Looking ahead A test against the best for Almería
18 Edition

The Almería Gazette

30 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Still nobody has beaten Almería

The unbeaten run reaches 14. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.

Squad

A falling-out at Almería

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

Squad

A row about effort at Almería

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.

Player ratings

Jon Morcillo beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 18. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Squad

Alejandro Vallejos signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Alejandro Vallejos commits to Almería for another 3 years.

The dugout

Álex Muñoz gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Squad

Almería 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.

Match

Honours even between Almería and Zaragoza

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 dugout

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.

In brief

17 Edition

The Almería Gazette

23 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Sergio Arribas asks to leave Almería

“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.

Match

Almería throw away a 2-goal lead

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.

Match

Whatever happens, Almería do not lose

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

Player ratings

Vintage Mikel Vesga — 7.86

At 33 every good afternoon gets called a throwback, and this one was: 7.86, and nobody on the pitch better.

Squad

Words exchanged at Almería

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.

Match

The run at home goes on for Almería

8 matches unbeaten here. Every visiting manager is asked about it in the week before, which is precisely why it keeps going.

Squad

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 ratings

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.

The dugout

Brian Cipenga 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

16 Edition

The Almería Gazette

16 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

Still nobody has beaten Almería

The unbeaten run reaches 12. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.

The dugout

Wilfredo Olivera: 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.” Almería have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Player ratings

Rodrigo Escandar pops up at the right end — 6.88

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.

Squad

Tempers go at Almería

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.

The dugout

Andrés 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.

Squad

A row about effort at Almería

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.

Match

Almería rescue it on 89 minutes

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.

Match

Jon Morcillo rescues a point for Almería

It needed Jon Morcillo to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against Málaga, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.

Market

Wilfredo Olivera is free to find somewhere else

“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.

In brief

15 Edition

The Almería Gazette

9 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Fernando decides it from twelve yards

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.

Match

Cup progress for Almería

A 0‑0 win over Valladolid, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?

Match

Jon Morcillo leads the rout of Mirandés

3‑0, and Jon Morcillo took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Almería tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.

Player ratings

Jon Morcillo scores twice — 9.21

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.

Match

Whatever happens, Almería do not lose

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

Player ratings

Arvin Appiah runs at them all day

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

Squad

Words exchanged at Almería

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.

The terraces

Almería supporters have found a favourite in Marcos Luna

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.

Market

One of our own: Jon Herrero joins the Almería first team

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.

In brief

14 Edition

The Almería Gazette

2 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

9 unbeaten for Almería

Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 9 matches without defeat is a foundation Almería did not have in the autumn.

Squad

A falling-out at Almería

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

Player ratings

Sergio Arribas runs at them all day

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

Squad

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.

Squad

Thalys is the month’s best young player

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.

Player ratings

Leonardo Lelo stands above it all

Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.63 on the card, and the Almería support went home talking about one name.

The dugout

No hiding place for Rodrigo Ely

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

Squad

Almería are still strangers to each other

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.

The dugout

Mikel Vesga 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 Almería, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

13 Edition

The Almería Gazette

26 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Market

Sergio Arribas puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Almería, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Andrés Fernández stands alone

8 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.

Player ratings

Sergio Arribas scores twice — 8.17

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.

Match

8 unbeaten for Almería

Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 8 matches without defeat is a foundation Almería did not have in the autumn.

Squad

Words exchanged at Almería

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.

Match

Almería find a way past Leganés

Leganés made Almería work for it, but the scoreboard read 3‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Squad

A row about effort at Almería

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.

Player ratings

One of those days for Javi Muñoz

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.24, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Squad

Appearance number 100 for Marcos Luna

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.

In brief

12 Edition

The Almería Gazette

19 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

Sergio Arribas runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 35. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Match

Almería win it in stoppage time

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.

Squad

Tempers go at Almería

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.

Match

7 unbeaten for Almería

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

The terraces

The crowd has taken to Thalys

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.

Match

Almería see off Castellón

Three points for Almería, 1‑0 the final word against Castellón in a contest settled by the finer margins.

Squad

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 dugout

Diego Bravo has his say

“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.

Looking ahead

Almería take on the side everybody is chasing

Leganés arrive as leaders. A side at the top is beaten roughly once a month, and the club that does it gets a week it remembers for a year.

In brief

11 Edition

The Almería Gazette

12 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Andrés Fernández keeps Almería in it on his own

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

Player ratings

Up for the corner, and Federico Bonini delivers — 7.83

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.

Squad

Jon Morcillo signs a new deal

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

Squad

Jon Morcillo 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 Almería this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Still nobody has beaten Almería

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

Market

Almería promote Nicolás Sierra from within

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.

The dugout

Javi Muñoz gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Match

Deportivo La Coruña snatch it back from Almería

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 dugout

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.

In brief

10 Edition

The Almería Gazette

5 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Thalys, 21, steals the show — 7.65

Marked 7.65 at 21, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.

Squad

A falling-out at Almería

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

Squad

Áron Yaakobishvili is a better footballer than he was

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.

Squad

A row about effort at Almería

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.

Match

Granada snatch it back from Almería

A goal on 97 minutes turned three points into one and a good afternoon into an argument about game management that will run until Saturday.

Squad

Too much change too quickly at Almería

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.

The dugout

Rodrigo Ely 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

Almería and Granada take a point apiece

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

The dugout

Diego Bravo on the point

“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.

In brief

9 Edition

The Almería Gazette

28 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Market

Sergio Arribas asks to leave Almería

“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 ratings

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.

Squad

Javi Muñoz 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 Almería this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Almería get the job done against Real Sociedad B

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.

Squad

Jon Morcillo reaches 50 goals

50 goals for the club, every one of them filed away in the memory of a supporter somewhere.

Squad

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.

Player ratings

Sergio Arribas in the eights

A performance of 8.16 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

The dugout

Brian Cipenga gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Squad

Damián González Hernández signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Damián González Hernández commits to Almería for another 1 years.

In brief

8 Edition

The Almería Gazette

21 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A falling-out at Almería

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

The dugout

Wilfredo Olivera gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Squad

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.

The dugout

Diego Bravo: “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.

Market

Experience through the door at Almería

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.

Match

Point won or two lost for Almería?

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 dugout

Jorge Pulido left out for tactical reasons at Almería

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.

The dugout

The manager makes Brian Cipenga a promise

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.

Squad

The shirt is Adrián Embarba’s

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.

In brief

7 Edition

The Almería Gazette

14 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Market

The Celta deal is off

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.

Player ratings

Age has not caught Adrián Embarba yet — 7.90

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.

Player ratings

A defender's goal wins it for Almería — 7.87

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.

Market

Sergio Arribas wants more than Almería 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.

Player ratings

Jon Morcillo runs at them all day

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

Squad

Words exchanged at Almería

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.

Match

Almería get the job done against Eibar

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

Transfer targets

Club America tell Almería: José Raúl Zúñiga 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.

Market

Ismael Gallardo steps up from the Almería academy

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

6 Edition

The Almería Gazette

7 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Transfer targets

Iker Álvarez’s move to Almería collapses on the table

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.

Market

Levante come back empty-handed

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

Transfer targets

Almería rebuffed over Miguel Baeza

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.

Boardroom

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.

Squad

A falling-out at Almería

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

Squad

A row about effort at Almería

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.

Player ratings

Sergio Arribas in the eights

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

Squad

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.

The dugout

Rodrigo Ely 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

5 Edition

The Almería Gazette

31 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Almería turn down Las Palmas for Sergio Arribas

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

Market

Business is business: Nico Melamed goes

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.

Market

Álex Muñoz says no to Deportivo La Coruña

“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.

The terraces

A $16.2M sale, and a town that did not want it

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.

Market

Business is business: Léo Baptistão goes

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.

Squad

Words exchanged at Almería

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.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Jon Morcillo

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

Transfer targets

Door shut on José Paradela

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.

Match

A bad afternoon for Almería against Burgos

1‑2 to Burgos, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

In brief

  • Player ratings The game went through André Horta — 6.69
  • The dugout The view from the dugout
  • The dugout The manager makes an example of Álex Muñoz
4 Edition

The Almería Gazette

24 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Triumph

Transfer targets

No deal for Ez Abde at that price

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.

Market

Almería turn down Getafe for Daijiro Chirino

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

Match

Almería find a way past Huesca

Huesca made Almería work for it, but the scoreboard read 3‑2 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Squad

A falling-out at Almería

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

Transfer targets

Almería rebuffed over Tomás Chancalay

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.

The dugout

No hiding place for Andrés Fernández

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

Squad

A row about effort at Almería

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.

Player ratings

One of those days for Nico Melamed

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 ratings

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.

In brief

3 Edition

The Almería Gazette

17 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Celta come back empty-handed

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

Squad

Léo Baptistão 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 Almería this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Boardroom

Almería beat the market to Jonatan Goya from Deportivo La Coruña

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.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Ignacio Campo

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.

Squad

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.

Squad

Diego Jiménez stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Diego Jiménez and Almería agree another 1 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

The formation has left Diego Jiménez behind

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.

Looking ahead

Andrés Fernández faces his old club

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.

The terraces

The stands have heard the Miguel De la Fuente talk too

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.

In brief

  • Looking ahead Home comforts ahead for Almería
  • Boardroom Almería spend it where nobody looks
2 Edition

The Almería Gazette

10 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Transfer targets

An offer of $16.0M for Ez Abde

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.

Market

Almería turn down Fehervar for André Horta

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

Squad

Sergio Arribas signs a new deal

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

Transfer targets

An offer of $340.0K for Jeremía Recoba

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.

Transfer targets

Almería baulk at the price for Álvaro Banquero

Independiente wanted more than $630.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.

Squad

Words exchanged at Almería

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.

Transfer targets

Door shut on José Raúl Zúñiga

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.

Market

Marc Duran steps up from the Almería academy

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.

Market

Almería promote Felipe Medina from within

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.

In brief

1 Edition

The Almería Gazette

3 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Sergio Arribas 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 Almería hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.

Squad

Adrián Embarba stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Adrián Embarba and Almería agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Transfer targets

An offer of $470.0K for Álvaro Banquero

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.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Ignacio Ovando

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.

Squad

Tempers go at Almería

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.

Squad

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.

Squad

A muscle injury sidelines Chumi for 15 days

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.

Market

Talks stall between Almería and Adrián Embarba

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

Market

24 months and counting on Mikel Vesga

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