103 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Argentinos Juniors lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Diego Porcel is on it.
He used to be one of the options. He is now one of the men the options are picked around, and the change happened quietly enough that only the dressing room noticed on the day.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Argentinos Juniors this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Diego Porcel is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Juan José Cardozo is on it.
Position 2, 24 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Hernán López Muñoz 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 Argentinos Juniors 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 Argentinos Juniors, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Emiliano Viveros is on it.
“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.
Alan Lescano 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 had been thinking. Hernán López Muñoz 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.
9 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 Argentinos Juniors, 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 Argentinos Juniors, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Ayacucho waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Argentinos Juniors is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Argentinos Juniors have had the benefit of it.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Agustín Mangiaut 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 Diego Porcel was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Diego Porcel is on it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Hernán López Muñoz was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The name of Kevin Coronel has come up in conversations Argentinos Juniors were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Facundo Jainikoski and Argentinos Juniors agree another 5 years.
Qualification is done, and next season the floodlights come on for something bigger. A stage for the players, oxygen for the accounts and a passport for everybody else.
Position 2, 24 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. Argentinos Juniors will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
Alan Lescano 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.
Boca Juniors have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Emiliano Viveros is on it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Franco Paredes was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Argentinos Juniors has been clear about where Francisco Álvarez stands, which is more than many ever get.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Alan Lescano trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Gabriel Florentin is on it.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Argentinos Juniors can pretend not to have heard.
Add another name to the list: Sol de America have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Diego Porcel. The answer from Argentinos Juniors has not changed — yet.
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.
Nicolás Oroz 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.
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.
In brief
The dugoutAlan Lescano asks for a word with the manager
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Gonzalo Siri
18 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Argentinos Juniors lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Argentinos Juniors is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Argentinos Juniors this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Hernán López Muñoz 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.
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Juan José Cardozo is on it.
The words a physio says slowly. 25 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Position 2, 24 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Alan Lescano 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 Franco Paredes was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Argentinos Juniors 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.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Argentinos Juniors. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Diego Porcel trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
32 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Argentinos Juniors lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Facundo Jainikoski 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.
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Nicolás Malvacio has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Argentinos Juniors have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
Nobody at Argentinos Juniors 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.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Federico Mancuello has written the date down.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Emiliano Viveros signs something — a contract at Argentinos Juniors or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
39 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Argentinos Juniors lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
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 manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Diego Porcel is on it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Francisco Álvarez signs something — a contract at Argentinos Juniors or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Tomás Molina has written the date down.
5 clean sheets from 8 appearances at Güemes. That is the whole of a goalkeeper’s job done properly, and it is being done a long way from the club that owns him.
3 goals in 6 games at Colo-Colo — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Argentinos Juniors updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Argentinos Juniors, and both men came out saying it was fine.
46 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Argentinos Juniors lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Argentinos Juniors is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Franco Paredes 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.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Juan José Cardozo is on it.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Argentinos Juniors can pretend not to have heard.
Position 2, 24 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Some goals win a match and some take one off somebody else. Hernán López Muñoz scored in the 86th minute, Banfield had already begun thinking about the journey home, and Argentinos Juniors took the lot.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Hernán López Muñoz 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 Argentinos Juniors this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Hernán López Muñoz. 2‑1 against Banfield, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Marked 8.65 — 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.
Facundo Jainikoski 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.
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Julián Marchio has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Argentinos Juniors have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
The words a physio says slowly. 23 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Marked 8.01 — 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.
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.
In brief
The dugoutThe view from the dugout
The dugoutTomás Molina knocks on the manager's door
31 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Argentinos Juniors lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 21 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Argentinos Juniors is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
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.
Two sides from the top of the table, one afternoon, and a month of talk decided in ninety minutes. Argentinos Juniors will not use the word title this week and will not stop thinking it.
39 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Argentinos Juniors lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Argentinos Juniors will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“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 Argentinos Juniors, and it is not being withdrawn.
Alan Lescano 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.
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 dugout28 Sep 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Valentino Ferrari was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Argentinos Juniors dressing room was either.
In brief
The dugoutSomebody else is better right now than Fernando Meza
48 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Argentinos Juniors lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 35 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
There were 87 minutes on the clock and River Plate had all but banked the point. Football rarely reads the room, and Argentinos Juniors did not stop to explain themselves.
Alan Lescano 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Emiliano Viveros. 1‑0 against River Plate, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Argentinos Juniors are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
Chances created: 10. Nothing on the scoresheet and everything in the match: the pass before the pass, over and over, until the defence stopped guessing right.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Argentinos Juniors will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
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.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Hernán López Muñoz was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nicolás Oroz 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 paperwork is done long before the player is. Emanuel Quinteros has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Argentinos Juniors have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Argentinos Juniors will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Argentinos Juniors they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Hernán López Muñoz was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Argentinos Juniors will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Chacarita Juniors are out and Argentinos Juniors go through, 3‑2 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.
Alan Lescano 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 23 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 68 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.23 at 34, and nobody on the pitch was better.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Argentinos Juniors and Barracas Central in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Argentinos Juniors will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Hernán López Muñoz was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Talleres will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Matías Samaniego has pre-agreed a move to Argentinos Juniors, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Argentinos Juniors will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Argentinos Juniors is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Luciano Sánchez has agreed terms with Huracán for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Alan Lescano and Argentinos Juniors agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Alan Lescano 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.
Marked 9.62 — 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.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Argentinos Juniors will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
A brace, and Tomás Molina takes the afternoon — 9.04
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Tomás Molina provided it, and the 9.04 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
The offer from Bari for Emiliano Viveros was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Federico Mancuello and Argentinos Juniors agree another 2 years.
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.
Nicolás Oroz 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.
A 2‑0 win over Independiente Rivadavia, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.