From our football correspondent
Steady
Market26 Oct 2026
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ignacio Manzanares will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Belgrano the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad26 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Belgrano this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Words at Belgrano training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Santiago Longo 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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Belgrano are still strangers to each other
11 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 dugout26 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Federico Ricca, and the manager let it.
Market26 Oct 2026
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Román Rodríguez has his answer from Belgrano; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Market26 Oct 2026
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Belgrano know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
Agustín Melano has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Belgrano 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.
Market26 Oct 2026
2 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Belgrano could get for him.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market19 Oct 2026
Only the photograph left for Federico Ricca
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Federico Ricca will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Belgrano the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad19 Oct 2026
A falling-out at Belgrano
Lucas Zelarayán and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Boardroom19 Oct 2026
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.
Match17 Oct 2026
0‑2 to Argentinos Juniors, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Franco Vázquez 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 dugout19 Oct 2026
“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.
Squad19 Oct 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Ramiro Tulián and Belgrano agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
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 Pablo Rey left the room before anybody could ask which.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad12 Oct 2026
3 goals in one game. The first was taken well, the second was taken greedily, and by the third the crowd were simply waiting for him to get the ball.
Market12 Oct 2026
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Belgrano they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Words exchanged at Belgrano
Lucas Zelarayán 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 ratings12 Oct 2026
Ninety minutes of Nicolás Fernández at his very best
Marked 9.70. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Belgrano.
Match10 Oct 2026
Huracán made Belgrano work for it, but the scoreboard read 3‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Defences have started doubling up on Nicolás Fernández
9 goals and a season average of 7.28 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
Somebody else is better right now than Thiago Cardozo
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
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.” Pablo Rey, on a 3‑1 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
A brace, and Nicolás Fernández takes the afternoon — 8.99
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Nicolás Fernández provided it, and the 8.99 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Lucas Zelarayán 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.
Match3 Oct 2026
2‑3 to River Plate, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Santiago Longo 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 dugout5 Oct 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
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 2‑3 Pablo Rey left the room before anybody could ask which.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
Thiago Cardozo dropped after a run of poor form
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Belgrano will explain it as a decision about the team, and it may well be one. A dressing room has never once read it that way.
Market5 Oct 2026
Belgrano bring in an old head
Rodrigo Cabrera is 37 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market28 Sep 2026
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ignacio Manzanares will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Belgrano the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad28 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Belgrano this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Sep 2026
A row about effort at Belgrano
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Franco Vázquez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad28 Sep 2026
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 ratings28 Sep 2026
Nicolás Fernández was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.06. 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 dugout28 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Francisco González Metilli, and the manager let it.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Too much change too quickly at Belgrano
10 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 dugout28 Sep 2026
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market21 Sep 2026
Only the photograph left for Federico Ricca
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Federico Ricca will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Belgrano the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad21 Sep 2026
A falling-out at Belgrano
Lucas Zelarayán and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Franco Vázquez
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Defensive actions: 17. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.68 on the card, and the Belgrano support went home talking about one name.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
Market21 Sep 2026
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Guillermo de Amores has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Belgrano.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Pablo Rey kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match12 Sep 2026
The 2-goal deficit was real and so was the recovery. Nicolás Fernández was at the centre of it, Estudiantes were at the end of it, and everybody who left early will hear about this one for years.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Two goals and a mark of 9.94 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Squad14 Sep 2026
There were 8 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Market14 Sep 2026
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Belgrano they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Market14 Sep 2026
“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.35 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Market14 Sep 2026
Shinnik come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Belgrano did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Boardroom14 Sep 2026
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Ignacio Manzanares has agreed terms with Tigre for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words exchanged at Belgrano
Lucas Zelarayán 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market7 Sep 2026
The bid was some way short and Belgrano did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Lucas Zelarayán 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.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
One scored and one made, which is a different afternoon from scoring twice and an easier one to overlook. Marked 7.93, and involved in 2 of his side's goals.
Squad7 Sep 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Emiliano Rigoni and Belgrano agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at Belgrano training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Franco Vázquez 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 ratings7 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 18. 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
15 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Market7 Sep 2026
“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.
In brief
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
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The dugout
Thiago Cardozo dropped after a run of poor form
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The dugout
Santiago Longo asks for a word with the manager
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match29 Aug 2026
Banfield will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Belgrano were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
A brace, and Lucas Passerini takes the afternoon — 9.05
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Lucas Passerini provided it, and the 9.05 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Market31 Aug 2026
The bid was some way short and Belgrano did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.57 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Squad31 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Belgrano this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Words at Belgrano training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nicolás Fernández 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 dugout31 Aug 2026
“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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Too much change too quickly at Belgrano
9 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 dugout31 Aug 2026
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match19 Aug 2026
The small margins put Belgrano out
Out, 1‑1 to Racing, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
Market24 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.88 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Squad24 Aug 2026
A falling-out at Belgrano
Lucas Zelarayán and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 22. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad24 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Belgrano
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Franco Vázquez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match22 Aug 2026
Gimnasia La Plata left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout24 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Franco Vázquez, and the manager let it.
Market24 Aug 2026
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Belgrano have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad17 Aug 2026
There were 10 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Market17 Aug 2026
Belgrano say no — this time
The offer from Espanyol for Emiliano Rigoni 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.
Market17 Aug 2026
Only the photograph left for Federico Ricca
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Federico Ricca will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Belgrano the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Guillermo de Amores has, at Belgrano, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Market17 Aug 2026
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Belgrano have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Boardroom17 Aug 2026
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Belgrano
Lucas Zelarayán 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.
Squad17 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Belgrano
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Franco Vázquez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom17 Aug 2026
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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad10 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Lucas Passerini and Belgrano agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad10 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Belgrano this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
One scored and one made, which is a different afternoon from scoring twice and an easier one to overlook. Marked 7.88, and involved in 2 of his side's goals.
Squad10 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Belgrano
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Franco Vázquez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom10 Aug 2026
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.
The dugout10 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Adrián Sánchez
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout10 Aug 2026
Pablo Rey faces the questions
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Pablo Rey after 2‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout10 Aug 2026
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Two goals and a mark of 8.58 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Market3 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Franco Vázquez commits to Belgrano for another 2 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Lucas Zelarayán 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
Franco Vázquez 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 dugout3 Aug 2026
“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.
Market3 Aug 2026
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
Squad3 Aug 2026
8 new faces, and Belgrano 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.
Match1 Aug 2026
It finished 2‑2, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.