Carabobo U20

17 Oct 2026
Saturday
Process
11 Edition

The Carabobo Herald

12 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Leonardo Aponte damages knee ligaments — 105 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 105 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.

Squad

Tempers go at Carabobo

Juan Camilo Pérez 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

Matías Núñez 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

Back issues
10 Edition

The Carabobo Herald

5 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Leonardo Aponte damages knee ligaments — 114 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 114 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.

Match

Carabobo do the business in Europe

0‑0. Continental football is where a club finds out what it actually is, and Carabobo came through the finding-out well against Central Córdoba SdE.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Dimas Meza

Successful dribbles: 33. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Match

Still nobody has beaten Carabobo

The unbeaten run reaches 8. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Ezequiel Neira

23 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.

Squad

Juan Camilo Pérez 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 Carabobo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Jean Franco Fuentes

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 22 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

Boardroom

175% of the income goes out in wages at Carabobo

Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Darluis Paz

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

In brief

  • Squad Words at Carabobo training over how hard people work
  • Player ratings The one thing Eric Ramírez could not do
  • The terraces The press have found their man in Denilson Ojeda
9 Edition

The Carabobo Herald

28 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Tempers go at Carabobo

Yohandry Orozco 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.

Market

Ezequiel Neira wants European nights

The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.

Squad

José Riasco 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.

In brief

8 Edition

The Carabobo Herald

21 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

Dimas Meza lights up a European night for Carabobo

2‑2 against Deportivo Cali, and a performance that will be described to people who were not there for the rest of the season. Dimas Meza was at the centre of the description.

Match

Still nobody has beaten Carabobo

The unbeaten run reaches 7. 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

Yohandry Orozco 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 Carabobo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Ninety minutes of Dimas Meza at his very best

Marked 9.09. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Carabobo.

Squad

No hiding place for Yohandry Orozco

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

Player ratings

Joshuan Berríos runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

In brief

7 Edition

The Carabobo Herald

14 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Edson Tortolero breaks a bone — 17 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 17 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Squad

Tempers go at Carabobo

Yohandry Orozco 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

César Salazar 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.

In brief

6 Edition

The Carabobo Herald

7 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Triumph

Squad

Edson Tortolero breaks a bone — 24 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 24 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Match

Eric Ramírez sends Carabobo through

Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Eric Ramírez obliged against Zamora. 1‑0 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is Carabobo.

Squad

Denilson Ojeda keeps Carabobo in it on his own

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.

Player ratings

Joshuan Berríos runs at them all day

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

Squad

Yohandry Orozco 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 Carabobo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Still nobody has beaten Carabobo

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.

Boardroom

197% of the income goes out in wages at Carabobo

Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Jean Franco Fuentes

Defensive actions: 20. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Player ratings

Ezequiel Neira shuts the door

Defensive actions: 18, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

In brief

5 Edition

The Carabobo Herald

31 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

A fracture rules Edson Tortolero out for 32 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Carabobo will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Squad

Tempers go at Carabobo

Alexander González 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

José Riasco 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.

In brief

4 Edition

The Carabobo Herald

24 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Triumph

Squad

Edson Tortolero breaks a bone — 40 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 40 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Match

Carabobo through in the cup

A 1‑0 win over Estudiantes de Merida, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.

Player ratings

Edson Tortolero 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.

Player ratings

Jonathan Bilbao shuts the door

Defensive actions: 23, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Squad

Alexander González 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 Carabobo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The terraces

Carabobo supporters have found a favourite in Franner López

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

Player ratings

Joshuan Berríos was on a different afternoon to everybody else

8.81. 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.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Eric Ramírez

“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 ratings

A masterclass from Franner López

Marked 8.16 — 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.

In brief

3 Edition

The Carabobo Herald

17 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

A fracture rules Leonardo Aponte out for 24 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Carabobo will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Match

Carabobo march on in the cup

Portuguesa are out and Carabobo go through, 1‑0 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.

Squad

Denilson Ojeda keeps Carabobo in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

The terraces

Carabobo sell a favourite for $1.1M

The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Lucas Bruera was one of the reasons people came, and $1.1M does not replace that by itself.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Jonathan Bilbao

27 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.

Market

Business is business: Lucas Bruera goes

Club Brugge paid $1.1M and Carabobo took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.

Squad

Tempers go at Carabobo

Alexander González 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 ratings

Joshuan Berríos runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Player ratings

Darluis Paz in the eights

A performance of 8.84 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

In brief

2 Edition

The Carabobo Herald

10 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Triumph

Squad

A fracture rules Leonardo Aponte out for 32 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Carabobo will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Player ratings

Both of them Eric Ramírez's — 8.44

2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.44, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Joshuan Berríos

Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Lucas Bruera 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 Carabobo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

One of those days for Edson Tortolero

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.39, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Match

Carabobo get the job done against Estudiantes de Caracas

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

Squad

The manager makes an example of Maurice Cova

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

Squad

José Riasco 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.

Market

48 months and counting on Lucas Bruera

Still no offer on the table, and Lucas Bruera’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.

In brief

1 Edition

The Carabobo Herald

3 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Triumph

Market

Leganés come back empty-handed

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

Player ratings

A brace, and Eric Ramírez takes the afternoon — 8.59

There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Eric Ramírez provided it, and the 8.59 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.

Player ratings

Age has not caught Maurice Cova yet — 8.19

At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.19 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.

Player ratings

Edson Tortolero runs at them all day

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

Squad

Lucas Bruera stays put

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

Squad

Tempers go at Carabobo

Lucas Bruera 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.

Market

Carabobo may not be able to give Ezequiel Neira what he wants

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

Match

Carabobo find a way past Mineros de Guayana

Mineros de Guayana made Carabobo work for it, but the scoreboard read 3‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Market

Yohandry Orozco is free to find somewhere else

“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Carabobo has been clear about where Yohandry Orozco stands, which is more than many ever get.

In brief