14 Feb 2027
Sunday
Process
28 Edition

The Caracas Herald

8 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Triumph

Squad

The knee: Lautaro Gordillo out for 55 days

55 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Caracas lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

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 Caracas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Alexander González was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 22. 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.

Squad

Luis Del Pino Mago 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.

Match

Caracas find a way past Atletico Venezuela

Atletico Venezuela made Caracas work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Javier Balbuena

“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.

Market

Lumezzane are about to pick up the phone

A conversation is coming this week. Caracas will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.

Player ratings

The afternoon belonged to Mauricio Márquez

A mark of 7.78, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.

Squad

Too much change too quickly at Caracas

6 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.

In brief

Back issues
27 Edition

The Caracas Herald

1 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Lautaro Gordillo

62 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Caracas lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Market

Lokomotiv Plovdiv come back empty-handed

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

Squad

Words exchanged at Caracas

Luis Del Pino Mago 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

Christian Larotonda runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Albert Zambrano

“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.

Match

Deportivo La Guaira take the points off Caracas

Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Squad

Eduardo Fereira 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.

Match

The run is over for Caracas

4 matches without defeat, and then Deportivo La Guaira. Nobody at the ground pretended it would go on forever; nobody expected it to stop here either.

The dugout

Junior Castillo answers for it

“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.

In brief

26 Edition

The Caracas Herald

25 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Triumph

Squad

Lautaro Gordillo damages knee ligaments — 69 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 69 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.

Player ratings

Both of them Mauricio Márquez's — 8.95

2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.95, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.

Player ratings

Alexander González, 34, rolls back the years — 8.16

There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.16 at 34, and nobody on the pitch was better.

Match

Caracas make it 4 in a row

Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Caracas have 4 straight wins of it.

Squad

Words exchanged at Caracas

Alexander González 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.

Boardroom

1 academy players handed senior numbers at Caracas

The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.

Squad

Luis Del Pino Mago 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.

Match

Mauricio Márquez sends Caracas past Estudiantes de Caracas

It finished 3‑1, and it was Mauricio Márquez’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Caracas.

The terraces

The crowd has taken to Santos Torrealba

At 19 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.

In brief

25 Edition

The Caracas Herald

18 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

The knee: Lautaro Gordillo out for 79 days

79 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Caracas lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

Market

Alejandro Villarreal says no to Masr El Makasa

“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Alejandro Villarreal had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.

Market

Daniel Padilla 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 Caracas, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

A falling-out at Caracas

Alexander González 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 Caracas

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Luis Del Pino Mago was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

When it matters, Frankarlos Benítez plays

It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.

The dugout

No hiding place for Chris Martínez

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

The dugout

Mauricio Márquez asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

Market

The Frankarlos Benítez talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Caracas know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

In brief

24 Edition

The Caracas Herald

11 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

The knee: Lautaro Gordillo out for 86 days

86 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Caracas lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

Transfer targets

Caracas rebuffed over Eduardo Guerrero

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Dynamo Kyiv have kept their man, and Caracas go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Squad

A falling-out at Caracas

Luis Del Pino Mago and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Words at Caracas training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Eduardo Fereira 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.

Market

The Alejandro Villarreal conversation is coming

Everyone has stopped pretending: Masr El Makasa will make the call about Alejandro Villarreal this week. Caracas have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.

Squad

Too much change too quickly at Caracas

8 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

When it matters, Jeriel De Santis plays

It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.

Market

Mauricio Márquez linked with a move away

The name of Mauricio Márquez keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Caracas say nothing, which says plenty.

The dugout

The manager makes Robert Garcés a promise

Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Caracas. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.

In brief

23 Edition

The Caracas Herald

4 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

The knee: Lautaro Gordillo out for 96 days

96 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Caracas lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Marko Janković

Caracas asked and Qarabag 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

The step up is real for Frankarlos Benítez

At 22 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.

Squad

Tempers go at Caracas

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.

Market

Alejandro Villarreal attracts admirers

The name of Alejandro Villarreal has come up in conversations Caracas were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.

Squad

A row about effort at Caracas

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Luis Del Pino Mago was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Market

Alejandro Villarreal returns a better player

16 games and 4 goals away from here, and a man the manager did not have last summer. The loan did what loans are supposed to do and almost never do.

The dugout

Lucciano Reinoso 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.

The dugout

Alexander González has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Caracas 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.

In brief

22 Edition

The Caracas Herald

28 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Lautaro Gordillo damages knee ligaments — 103 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 103 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.

Market

Arquímedes Figuera 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 Caracas, and it is not being withdrawn.

Market

Caracas say no — this time

The offer from Trujillanos for Ángel Figueroa 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.

Transfer targets

The paperwork begins on Francisco Fraga

A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Caracas have done the hard part with Racing Club, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.

Squad

Words exchanged at Caracas

Alexander González 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

Caracas baulk at the price for Stiven Valencia

Zamora wanted more than $420.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.

Squad

A row about effort at Caracas

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Luis Del Pino Mago was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Transfer targets

Agropecuario Argentino tell Caracas: Alejo Medina 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

A season away well spent by Alejandro Villarreal

16 games, 4 goals, and a squad option that has arrived without a fee attached. The interesting question at Caracas now is not whether he plays but who he displaces.

In brief

21 Edition

The Caracas Herald

21 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

The knee: Lautaro Gordillo out for 110 days

110 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Caracas lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

Market

Caracas make Lautaro Gordillo the dearest name in their history

$1.2M. Fees like that buy a footballer and rent a debate: every touch will be measured against the number for a season at least.

Squad

Lautaro Gordillo arrives at the club he grew up with

Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Lautaro Gordillo has, at Caracas, and the first month will show what that does to a man.

Market

Daniel Padilla 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 Caracas, and it is not being withdrawn.

Market

Caracas turn down Zamora for Miguel Vegas

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

Squad

Luis Del Pino Mago 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 Caracas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Transfer targets

Too dear: Caracas walk away from Rojas

$410.0K was the most the club would pay and Deportivo La Guaira were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.

Market

Eyes on Ángel Figueroa again

The phone has started ringing about Ángel Figueroa again, and this time the name on the line is Trujillanos. Caracas are listening politely and promising nothing.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Osnel García

Caracas asked and Trujillanos said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

In brief

20 Edition

The Caracas Herald

14 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Triumph

Boardroom

Caracas lift the trophy

The season a town measures the next twenty against. The trophy comes home with the squad, and the route through the streets was agreed days ago.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Alexander González

Successful dribbles: 52. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Match

Cup progress for Caracas

A 1‑0 win over Deportivo Lara, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?

Transfer targets

Caracas agree $370.0K for Santos Torrealba

The clubs have shaken hands with Zamora; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.

Market

Deportivo La Guaira come back empty-handed

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

Transfer targets

An offer of $1.2M for Lautaro Gordillo

Caracas have gone to Colegiales 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

Too dear: Caracas walk away from Miguel Silva

$1.4M was the most the club would pay and Carabobo were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.

Market

Caracas pay Estudiantes de Merida $450.0K for a proper upgrade

Estudiantes de Merida did not want to sell and the number is why they did. $450.0K for Wilken Ramírez, and the expectation that arrives with him is the kind no amount of settling-in period softens.

Match

Caracas cannot stop winning

3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.

In brief

19 Edition

The Caracas Herald

7 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

The dugout

Robert Garcés: 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.” Caracas have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Transfer targets

Caracas bid $1.3M for Miguel Silva

The offer went to Carabobo this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.

Transfer targets

Caracas bid $310.0K for Stiven Valencia

The offer went to Zamora this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.

Squad

Tempers go at Caracas

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

Martín Coria arrives at the club he grew up with

Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Martín Coria has, at Caracas, and the first month will show what that does to a man.

Transfer targets

Caracas rebuffed over César Urpín

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Zamora have kept their man, and Caracas go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Market

Eyes on Wilfred Correa again

The phone has started ringing about Wilfred Correa again, and this time the name on the line is Deportivo La Guaira. Caracas are listening politely and promising nothing.

Squad

A row about effort at Caracas

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Luis Del Pino Mago was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Mauricio Márquez

“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

18 Edition

The Caracas Herald

30 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Tempers go at Caracas

Luis Del Pino Mago 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

A row about effort at Caracas

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Eduardo Fereira was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

Mauricio Márquez 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 Caracas, and both men came out saying it was fine.

The dugout

Christian Larotonda has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Caracas 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.

The dugout

A door opens for Javier Balbuena

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.

Market

The Francisco La Mantia talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Caracas know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

In brief

17 Edition

The Caracas Herald

23 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Market

Daniel Padilla 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 Caracas, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Luis Del Pino Mago 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 Caracas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The dugout

Javier Balbuena 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.

The dugout

Frankarlos Benítez has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Caracas 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.

Market

The Frankarlos Benítez talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Caracas know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

The dugout

Sebastián González 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 Caracas, and both men came out saying it was fine.

The dugout

The manager makes Arquímedes Figuera a promise

Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Caracas. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.

Loan watch

The goals keep arriving from Alejandro Villarreal’s exile

2 goals in 11 games at Lokomotiv Plovdiv — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Caracas updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.

Squad

Albert Zambrano has settled at Caracas

The shrug has gone, the language is coming, and he now argues in training like somebody who expects to be here next year. Half a signing's value is this and none of it appears on a fee.

In brief

16 Edition

The Caracas Herald

16 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

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 Caracas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

A row about effort at Caracas

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Luis Del Pino Mago was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

No hiding place for Lucciano Reinoso

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

The dugout

Jeriel De Santis has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Caracas 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.

Squad

Alejandro Aquino is a square peg at Caracas

The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.

Squad

“I want to play”: Lucciano Reinoso speaks

“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.

In brief

15 Edition

The Caracas Herald

9 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

The dugout

Lucciano Reinoso says Caracas went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Squad

Alejandro Aquino gets the move he always wanted

Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Alejandro Aquino has just signed for Caracas, and for once the answer mattered.

Market

Juan Vegas is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Caracas is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Words exchanged at Caracas

Luis Del Pino Mago 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.

Squad

A row about effort at Caracas

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Eduardo Fereira was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Robert Garcés

“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

Caracas 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.

The dugout

Alexander González gets picked when it counts

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 Alexander González is on it.

Market

The Jeriel De Santis question follows Caracas around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Jeriel De Santis’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

In brief

14 Edition

The Caracas Herald

2 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Tempers go at Caracas

Luis Del Pino Mago 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

The manager makes an example of Alexander González

“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 dugout

When it matters, Christian Larotonda plays

It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.

Squad

Caracas take the armband off Eduardo Fereira

It will be explained as a change for the team and it may even be one. Nobody who has worn one believes that, and neither does the man who has just had it taken away.

Squad

Luis Del Pino Mago takes the armband

It is a strip of cloth and it decides nothing on a Saturday. It still tells the dressing room exactly whose opinion the manager values, which is the whole point of it.

Market

Caracas and Juan Vegas are talking past each other

“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.

Market

The Francisco La Mantia talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Caracas know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

Squad

Is this Robert Aldama’s last season?

“I will know when it is time. I am not there yet.” Robert Aldama is 39, with 0 appearances behind him, and Caracas will have to plan for whichever answer comes.

The dugout

The manager makes Arquímedes Figuera a promise

Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Caracas. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.

In brief

13 Edition

The Caracas Herald

26 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

The dugout

Alexander González keeps the receipts

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

Market

Daniel Padilla hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Caracas can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

A falling-out at Caracas

Alexander González 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 Caracas

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Luis Del Pino Mago was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad

José Rondón signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” José Rondón commits to Caracas for another 3 years.

The dugout

Frankarlos Benítez has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Caracas 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.

In brief

12 Edition

The Caracas Herald

19 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

The dugout

Mauricio Márquez says Caracas went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Squad

A falling-out at Caracas

Luis Del Pino Mago and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Eduardo Fereira 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

When it matters, Jeriel De Santis plays

It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.

Market

Mauricio Márquez linked with a move away

The name of Mauricio Márquez keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Caracas say nothing, which says plenty.

The dugout

A door opens for Robert Garcés

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.

In brief

11 Edition

The Caracas Herald

12 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Market

Only the photograph left for Juan Vegas

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Juan Vegas will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Caracas the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Words exchanged at Caracas

Luis Del Pino Mago 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.

Boardroom

Beycker Velásquez will join Caracas for nothing

The paperwork is done long before the player is. Beycker Velásquez has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Caracas have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.

Market

Diego Savarino steps up from the Caracas academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Diego Savarino 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

Andres Castillo steps up from the Caracas academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Andres Castillo 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.

Squad

Caracas are still strangers to each other

12 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

Alexander González has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Caracas 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.

The dugout

Mauricio Márquez 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 Caracas, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Squad

The formation has left Robert Aldama behind

Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Caracas will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.

In brief

10 Edition

The Caracas Herald

5 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Words exchanged at Caracas

Alexander González 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.

Squad

Eduardo Fereira signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Eduardo Fereira commits to Caracas for another 4 years.

Squad

Words at Caracas training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Luis Del Pino Mago 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 step back for Wilfred Correa at Caracas

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.

The dugout

Arquímedes Figuera 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.

The dugout

Christian Larotonda gets picked when it counts

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 Christian Larotonda is on it.

In brief

9 Edition

The Caracas Herald

28 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Market

Daniel Padilla hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Caracas can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Chris Martínez has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Caracas they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Luis Del Pino Mago 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 Caracas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Caracas training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Eduardo Fereira 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

Junior Rosales signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Junior Rosales and Caracas agree another 3 years.

The dugout

Frankarlos Benítez gets picked when it counts

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 Frankarlos Benítez is on it.

Market

The Frankarlos Benítez talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Caracas know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

The dugout

The manager makes Robert Garcés a promise

Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Caracas. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.

The dugout

Junior Rosales asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

In brief

8 Edition

The Caracas Herald

21 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

A falling-out at Caracas

Luis Del Pino Mago and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Javier Balbuena

“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 dugout

When it matters, Jeriel De Santis plays

It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.

Squad

“I want to play”: Lucciano Reinoso speaks

“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.

The dugout

Lucciano Reinoso asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

Market

Mauricio Márquez linked with a move away

The name of Mauricio Márquez keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Caracas say nothing, which says plenty.

In brief

7 Edition

The Caracas Herald

14 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Market

Only the photograph left for Juan Vegas

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Juan Vegas will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Caracas the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Words at Caracas training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Luis Del Pino Mago 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.

Market

Caracas promote Junior Rosales from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Junior Rosales 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

Lucciano Reinoso 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

Caracas are still strangers to each other

10 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.

Squad

Juan Vegas 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 Caracas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Albert Zambrano needs a bigger stage

He is doing things every Saturday that nobody around him can answer. It is flattering for a season and a problem after that, and Caracas know which stage they are at.

The dugout

Alexander González gets picked when it counts

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 Alexander González is on it.

Market

Caracas and Francisco La Mantia are talking past each other

“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.

In brief

6 Edition

The Caracas Herald

7 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

Alexander González runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 53. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Match

Jeriel De Santis sends Caracas through

Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Jeriel De Santis obliged against Estudiantes de Merida. 2‑1 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is Caracas.

Match

Cruel end for Estudiantes de Merida as Caracas pounce

There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Caracas scored in the 116th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.

Player ratings

Jeriel De Santis scores twice — 9.20

Two goals and a mark of 9.20 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.

Player ratings

Eduardo Fereira ran the middle of the pitch — 7.52

He won it back and then made something of it, which is two jobs and the reason the scoreline looks the way it does. 20 combined actions and a mark of 7.52, and not one of them will make a highlights package.

Squad

Tempers go at Caracas

Luis Del Pino Mago 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

Francisco La Mantia stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Francisco La Mantia and Caracas agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

The terraces

Caracas supporters have found a favourite in Ángel Figueroa

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Ángel Figueroa 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.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Robert Garcés

“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

5 Edition

The Caracas Herald

31 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Market

Sebastián González says no to Metalurh Zaporizhzhia

“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Sebastián González had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.

Market

Daniel Padilla asks to leave Caracas

“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.

Market

Eyes on Alejandro Villarreal again

The phone has started ringing about Alejandro Villarreal again, and this time the name on the line is Lokomotiv Plovdiv. Caracas are listening politely and promising nothing.

Market

Chris Martínez is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Caracas is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Luis Del Pino Mago 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 Caracas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Mauricio Márquez

“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

4 Edition

The Caracas Herald

24 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

Caracas march on in the cup

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

Match

José Rondón settles it late for Caracas

The 85th minute, half the ground already edging towards the exits, and José Rondón decided nobody was going anywhere. Metropolitanos had no time left to answer.

Player ratings

José Rondón, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.64

A mark of 7.64 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.

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 Caracas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

Sebastián González attracts admirers

The name of Sebastián González has come up in conversations Caracas were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.

Squad

Luis Del Pino Mago 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 terraces

One of their own: José Rondón

He is 21 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.

The dugout

Junior Castillo 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.” Junior Castillo on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.

The dugout

Frankarlos Benítez gets picked when it counts

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 Frankarlos Benítez is on it.

In brief

3 Edition

The Caracas Herald

17 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Rodhier Lezama beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 45. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Match

Caracas through in the cup

A 2‑1 win over Llaneros, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.

Player ratings

Daniel Padilla 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.

Market

Juan Vegas is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Caracas is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Boardroom

Juan Vegas signs for Metropolitanos while still at Caracas

The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Juan Vegas has agreed terms with Metropolitanos for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.

Squad

Words exchanged at Caracas

Luis Del Pino Mago 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

The crowd has taken to Daniel Padilla

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

Caracas come up short against Estudiantes de Merida

Estudiantes de Merida left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

The dugout

No hiding place for Arquímedes Figuera

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

In brief

  • Squad A row about effort at Caracas
  • Squad Caracas are still strangers to each other
  • The dugout The view from the dugout
2 Edition

The Caracas Herald

10 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

No sign of nerves from Ángel Figueroa at 21 — 7.95

The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Ángel Figueroa did not need any: 7.95, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.

Player ratings

Christian Larotonda pops up at the right end — 7.92

7.92, 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.

Boardroom

Caracas to lose Chris Martínez for free

There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Chris Martínez has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.

Player ratings

Alexander González beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 23. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Squad

Luis Del Pino Mago 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 Caracas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Caracas see off Mineros de Guayana

Three points for Caracas, 3‑1 the final word against Mineros de Guayana in a contest settled by the finer margins.

Player ratings

Jeriel De Santis was on a different afternoon to everybody else

9.05. 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 terraces

The crowd has taken to Ángel Figueroa

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.

Market

Francisco Rincon steps up from the Caracas academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Francisco Rincon 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

1 Edition

The Caracas Herald

3 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Player ratings

Alexander González beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 26. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Market

Daniel Padilla asks to leave Caracas

“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.

Market

Only the photograph left for Chris Martínez

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Chris Martínez will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Caracas the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Luis Del Pino Mago signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Luis Del Pino Mago and Caracas agree another 3 years.

Squad

Words exchanged at Caracas

Mauricio Márquez 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.

Squad

A row about effort at Caracas

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Luis Del Pino Mago was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Match

A bad afternoon for Caracas against Deportivo Tachira

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

The dugout

No hiding place for Frankarlos Benítez

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

Squad

Jeriel De Santis makes it 100

100 times in these colours, in all weathers and under four or five different managers. That kind of service is quietly disappearing from the game.

In brief