From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad20 Sep 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Alejandro Tapia
45 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Central Norte lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad20 Sep 2027
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Central Norte will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Match20 Sep 2027
Every point is an argument now for Central Norte
Position 16 and 33 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Market20 Sep 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Central Norte can pretend not to have heard.
Market20 Sep 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Central Norte is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Agustín Lamosa and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Maximiliano Ribero 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 dugout20 Sep 2027
“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.
Match18 Sep 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad13 Sep 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 75 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 8 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Market13 Sep 2027
“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 The request is on a desk at Central Norte, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Agustín Lamosa 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.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Words at Central Norte training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Maximiliano Ribero 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 terraces13 Sep 2027
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Player ratings13 Sep 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.19, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings13 Sep 2027
Successful dribbles: 16. 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad6 Sep 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 82 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market6 Sep 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Central Norte can pretend not to have heard.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Central Norte
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad6 Sep 2027
6 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Market6 Sep 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
The dugout6 Sep 2027
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Squad6 Sep 2027
Agustín Lamosa 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.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Maximiliano Ribero 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.
Match4 Sep 2027
Chaco For Ever left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad30 Aug 2027
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Central Norte will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market30 Aug 2027
“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.
The terraces30 Aug 2027
Agustín Aleo has gone, the accounts have $1.1M in them, and the supporters have the feeling of having been sold something themselves. Good business and a good decision are not always the same thing.
Player ratings30 Aug 2027
Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market30 Aug 2027
Business is business: Agustín Aleo goes
Astana paid $1.1M and Central Norte took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Erik Bodencer and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout30 Aug 2027
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Squad30 Aug 2027
Words at Central Norte training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Maximiliano Ribero 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.
Match28 Aug 2027
5 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Temperley were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad23 Aug 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 97 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Player ratings23 Aug 2027
Successful dribbles: 31. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Market23 Aug 2027
Fabricio Hass 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 Central Norte can pretend not to have heard.
Match21 Aug 2027
No end in sight to Central Norte's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Central Norte has to find a result from somewhere.
Market23 Aug 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Central Norte they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad23 Aug 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Central Norte this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Maximiliano Ribero was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout23 Aug 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ramiro Costa, and the manager let it.
Match21 Aug 2027
Level with 86 minutes on the clock, after an afternoon Central Norte had all but put away. Talleres will call it a point earned; the home dressing room will call it two given away, and both of them are right.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad16 Aug 2027
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Central Norte will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match16 Aug 2027
Position 16, 26 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Market16 Aug 2027
Elche come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Central Norte did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market16 Aug 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Central Norte can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout16 Aug 2027
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Match14 Aug 2027
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Agustín Lamosa 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.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Maximiliano Ribero was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Appearance number 100 for Tomás Castro
100 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad9 Aug 2027
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Central Norte will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market9 Aug 2027
“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.
Market9 Aug 2027
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Juan Carabajal had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
The dugout9 Aug 2027
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Squad9 Aug 2027
Erik Bodencer 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.
Squad9 Aug 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Ramiro Costa commits to Central Norte for another 2 years.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Words at Central Norte training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Maximiliano Ribero 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.
Match7 Aug 2027
Tomás Castro scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Colón, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Boardroom9 Aug 2027
144% of the income goes out in wages at Central Norte
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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad2 Aug 2027
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Central Norte will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market2 Aug 2027
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Ramiro Costa had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
Market2 Aug 2027
Erik Bodencer 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 Central Norte can pretend not to have heard.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Erik Bodencer and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout2 Aug 2027
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Squad2 Aug 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Ramiro Costa and Central Norte agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Maximiliano Ribero 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.
Match31 Jul 2027
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout2 Aug 2027
Enzo Vázquez 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad26 Jul 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 125 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market26 Jul 2027
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Once Caldas had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
Match24 Jul 2027
A 0‑3 beating by Godoy Cruz was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Market26 Jul 2027
“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 Central Norte, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom26 Jul 2027
Window shuts: 0 in, 6 out at Central Norte
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 0 arrived, 6 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Market26 Jul 2027
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Agustín Bustinduy will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Central Norte the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Agustín Lamosa and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Maximiliano Ribero was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout26 Jul 2027
The manager makes an example of Agustín Lamosa
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad19 Jul 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 133 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market19 Jul 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Central Norte can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings19 Jul 2027
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.51, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Match17 Jul 2027
It had gone 8 games. The players did not celebrate like men who had won a match; they celebrated like men who had been let out of something.
The dugout19 Jul 2027
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Squad19 Jul 2027
Erik Bodencer 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.
Market19 Jul 2027
Once Caldas are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Central Norte will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Maximiliano Ribero 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Jul 2027
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Central Norte will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market12 Jul 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Central Norte have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Player ratings12 Jul 2027
Successful dribbles: 34. 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.
Match10 Jul 2027
8 matches without a win for Central Norte
The run now stands at 8, and the questions being asked around Central Norte are no longer polite ones.
Market12 Jul 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Central Norte can pretend not to have heard.
Market12 Jul 2027
The phone has started ringing about Enzo Vázquez again, and this time the name on the line is Once Caldas. Central Norte are listening politely and promising nothing.
Market12 Jul 2027
Yenisey come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Central Norte did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
The dugout12 Jul 2027
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Squad12 Jul 2027
Erik Bodencer 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
Squad5 Jul 2027
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Central Norte will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Match3 Jul 2027
No end in sight to Central Norte's wait for a win
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Central Norte has to find a result from somewhere.
Market5 Jul 2027
“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 Central Norte, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad5 Jul 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Central Norte this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings5 Jul 2027
The game went through Gonzalo Álvez — 6.98
Marked 6.98 on 15 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Dealt with internally, which is the phrase a club uses when it would rather nobody asked twice. He will be fined, he will apologise, and he will play on Saturday.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Words at Central Norte training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tomás Castro 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.
Match3 Jul 2027
Defensores Unidos left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Market5 Jul 2027
Add another name to the list: PSIM have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Tobías Pantoja. The answer from Central Norte has not changed — yet.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad28 Jun 2027
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Central Norte will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Player ratings28 Jun 2027
Successful dribbles: 33. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market28 Jun 2027
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Gimnasia y Tiro had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
Market28 Jun 2027
Joaquín Mateo 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 Central Norte can pretend not to have heard.
Match26 Jun 2027
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Market28 Jun 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Central Norte is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Agustín Lamosa 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.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Gianluca Mancuso 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.
Squad28 Jun 2027
100 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad21 Jun 2027
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Central Norte will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market21 Jun 2027
“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.
Market21 Jun 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Central Norte have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Player ratings21 Jun 2027
Successful dribbles: 29. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match19 Jun 2027
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Player ratings21 Jun 2027
Agustín Aleo pops up at the right end — 7.74
7.74, 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.
The dugout21 Jun 2027
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Squad21 Jun 2027
Words at Central Norte training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Agustín Lamosa 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.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Gianluca Mancuso and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market14 Jun 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Central Norte have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Match9 Jun 2027
River Plate ended it 1‑4. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.
Market14 Jun 2027
“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 Central Norte, and it is not being withdrawn.
The terraces14 Jun 2027
1-4. Going out of a cup is one afternoon; going out like that is a week of phone-ins, and the manager will hear every one of them.
Player ratings14 Jun 2027
Successful dribbles: 25. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad14 Jun 2027
37 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
The dugout14 Jun 2027
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Match12 Jun 2027
No end in sight to Central Norte's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Central Norte has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Agustín Lamosa 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market7 Jun 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Central Norte can pretend not to have heard.
Market7 Jun 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Central Norte have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Squad7 Jun 2027
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 ratings7 Jun 2027
Successful dribbles: 23. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Noah Peralta 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.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Agustín Lamosa was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match5 Jun 2027
1‑2 to Almirante Brown, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Market7 Jun 2027
The name of Tobías Pantoja has come up in conversations Central Norte were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
The dugout7 Jun 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mauricio Rosales, and the manager let it.
In brief
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The dugout
A promise honoured for Erik Bodencer
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The dugout
The manager’s verdict
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The dugout
When it matters, Enzo Vázquez plays
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market31 May 2027
“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.
Match29 May 2027
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 7 matches without defeat is a foundation Central Norte did not have in the autumn.
Squad31 May 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Agustín Lamosa was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad31 May 2027
Gianluca Mancuso 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 dugout31 May 2027
“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.
Player ratings31 May 2027
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.
Match29 May 2027
The goal that put Nueva Chicago ahead was still being replayed on the concourse when Central Norte equalised, 4 minutes later. Leads are only worth what you do with them.
Match31 May 2027
Position 13, 18 points, and every result so far reduced to one line. The second half of the season starts with the same squad and a different set of expectations.
Match29 May 2027
It finished 2‑2, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market24 May 2027
“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.
Squad24 May 2027
Agustín Lamosa 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 ratings24 May 2027
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.
Match22 May 2027
Whatever happens, Central Norte do not lose
6 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Squad24 May 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tomás Castro was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The terraces24 May 2027
He is 23 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.
Match22 May 2027
A 1‑0 win over Chacarita Juniors, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
The dugout24 May 2027
“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.
Player ratings24 May 2027
Marked 7.92 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Central Norte had the best player on the pitch.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match15 May 2027
2 goals to the good, and then a slow surrender of everything that had been earned. Erik Bodencer will not be the one blamed for it, but nobody at Central Norte escapes the conversation that follows a collapse like this.
Player ratings17 May 2027
Two goals and a mark of 8.30 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Market17 May 2027
“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 Central Norte, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad17 May 2027
65 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
The dugout17 May 2027
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Squad17 May 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Agustín Lamosa was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad17 May 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Central Norte this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom17 May 2027
Wages swallow 141% of the Central Norte income
Every club 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 it has been tried.
The dugout17 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Enzo Vázquez, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match8 May 2027
Francisco Borda had done his part in building a 2-goal cushion. What happened after that was collective, and Chaco For Ever were allowed back into a match that had been finished with.
Market10 May 2027
“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.
Squad10 May 2027
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 ratings10 May 2027
One scored and one made, which is a different afternoon from scoring twice and an easier one to overlook. Marked 7.80, and involved in 2 of his side's goals.
Squad10 May 2027
Agustín Lamosa 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.
Squad10 May 2027
Gianluca Mancuso 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 ratings10 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings10 May 2027
A performance of 8.32 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
The dugout10 May 2027
The manager makes an example of Kevin Isa Luna
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market3 May 2027
“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 Central Norte, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad3 May 2027
Agustín Lamosa and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad3 May 2027
Tomás Castro 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 May 2027
“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.
Match1 May 2027
Temperley held the lead for 4 minutes, which is not long enough to enjoy it. Central Norte answered before the celebration had properly finished, and the shape of the afternoon changed with it.
Player ratings3 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad3 May 2027
Tiziano Cabrera named in the team of the month
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Tiziano Cabrera is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
Match1 May 2027
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Boardroom3 May 2027
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Central Norte now.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match21 Apr 2027
A 1‑1 win over Estudiantes, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Squad26 Apr 2027
1 kept out from twelve yards, and a stadium that will describe each of them for twenty years. A goalkeeper needs one night like this in a career, and this was it.
Market26 Apr 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Central Norte can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 24. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Match24 Apr 2027
7 matches without a win, and then this, against Talleres. Relief is a strange noise in a football ground and it was the only noise at the end.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Agustín Lamosa 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.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tomás Castro was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match24 Apr 2027
Three points for Central Norte, 1‑0 the final word against Talleres in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.09, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match19 Apr 2027
Every point is an argument now for Central Norte
Position 16 and 8 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Market19 Apr 2027
“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.
Match17 Apr 2027
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad19 Apr 2027
Agustín Lamosa 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.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Tomás Castro 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.
Match17 Apr 2027
Tomás Castro scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑3 to Mitre, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
Enzo Vázquez 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.
Boardroom19 Apr 2027
Wages swallow 139% of the Central Norte income
Every club 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 it has been tried.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad12 Apr 2027
8 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Market12 Apr 2027
Tiago Taobas 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 Central Norte can pretend not to have heard.
Match10 Apr 2027
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad12 Apr 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Central Norte this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Agustín Lamosa 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.
Match10 Apr 2027
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Central Norte can tell you which week it ends in.
Match10 Apr 2027
0‑1 to Colón, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
“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 dugout12 Apr 2027
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 0‑1 Andrés Ojeda left the room before anybody could ask which.
In brief
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Player ratings
Agustín Aleo's mistake decides it
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The dugout
The manager has not finished forgetting Agustín Aleo's mistake
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The dugout
Enzo Vázquez has become a man the manager trusts
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout5 Apr 2027
“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.
Market5 Apr 2027
“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.
Match3 Apr 2027
4 matches without a win for Central Norte
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Central Norte are no longer polite ones.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Erik Bodencer and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Words at Central Norte training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Agustín Lamosa 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 ratings5 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 19. 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.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Santiago Cuellar, and the manager let it.
Market5 Apr 2027
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Matías Villarreal has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Central Norte.
Squad5 Apr 2027
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Central Norte will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market29 Mar 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Central Norte can pretend not to have heard.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Agustín Lamosa 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.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Words at Central Norte training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tomás Castro 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 dugout29 Mar 2027
“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.
Match27 Mar 2027
Godoy Cruz left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑1, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
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.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
Noah Peralta 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 Central Norte, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Player ratings29 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 12. 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 37. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market22 Mar 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Central Norte can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad22 Mar 2027
Erik Bodencer 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.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Agustín Lamosa was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Erik Bodencer, and the manager let it.
Boardroom22 Mar 2027
135% of the income goes out in wages at Central Norte
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 ratings22 Mar 2027
Ninety minutes of Tomás Castro at his very best
Marked 8.25. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Central Norte.
Squad22 Mar 2027
100 games in these colours. Service of that kind gets rarer every season, and the crowd knows it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad15 Mar 2027
The knee: Mateo Fofre out for 20 days
20 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Central Norte lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 29. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Market15 Mar 2027
Pedro Sanz 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 Central Norte can pretend not to have heard.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Agustín Lamosa and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tomás Castro was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
The manager makes an example of Enzo 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.
Match13 Mar 2027
It finished 2‑2, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
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 dugout15 Mar 2027
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Andrés Ojeda after the 2‑2 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match6 Mar 2027
Francisco Borda wins it after the whistle should have gone
90 minutes played. Francisco Borda found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and Defensores Unidos went from a point to nothing inside one movement.
Market8 Mar 2027
“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 Central Norte, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match6 Mar 2027
It had gone 11 games. The players did not celebrate like men who had won a match; they celebrated like men who had been let out of something.
Squad8 Mar 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Central Norte this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Mauricio Rosales and Central Norte agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Tomás Castro 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.
Match6 Mar 2027
A 1‑0 win over Defensores Unidos, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
Nobody on the pitch touched Agustín Aleo
7.55, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. Central Norte had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
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.” Andrés Ojeda kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match27 Feb 2027
11 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Market1 Mar 2027
“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.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Match27 Feb 2027
4 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Erik Bodencer 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.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Words at Central Norte training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Agustín Lamosa 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.
Match27 Feb 2027
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
“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 ratings1 Mar 2027
Both jobs done by Ramiro Costa — 6.62
A midfielder is measured on whether the team functions when he is on the pitch, which is nearly impossible to see and completely obvious in retrospect. 9 actions, 6.62, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match20 Feb 2027
No end in sight to Central Norte's wait for a win
10 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Central Norte has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 8 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Agustín Lamosa 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.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tomás Castro was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match20 Feb 2027
3 matches without a goal for Central Norte
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Match20 Feb 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Boardroom22 Feb 2027
Wages swallow 133% of the Central Norte income
Every club 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 it has been tried.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Matías Villarreal, and the manager let it.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 16. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match13 Feb 2027
9 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Market15 Feb 2027
“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.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Agustín Lamosa and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Words at Central Norte training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Maximiliano Ribero 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 ratings15 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
“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 dugout15 Feb 2027
Enzo Vázquez has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Central Norte 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 dugout15 Feb 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Central Norte, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
Half-satisfied: Andrés Ojeda on the draw
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market8 Feb 2027
Erik Bodencer 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 Central Norte can pretend not to have heard.
Match6 Feb 2027
8 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Boardroom8 Feb 2027
The Central Norte board want somebody sold
The instruction has come from upstairs rather than from the dugout, which is the version of this conversation no manager enjoys. Somebody in that squad is now available whether the man who picks the team thinks so or not.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Boardroom8 Feb 2027
4 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Agustín Lamosa was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Gianluca Mancuso 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.
Market8 Feb 2027
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Nicolás Romero 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.
Market8 Feb 2027
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Pablo López 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market1 Feb 2027
“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.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Agustín Lamosa 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.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Maximiliano Ribero was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Central Norte now.
The dugout1 Feb 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Central Norte, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout1 Feb 2027
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
Market1 Feb 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Erik Bodencer’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Market1 Feb 2027
“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.
The dugout1 Feb 2027
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad25 Jan 2027
A fracture rules Mauricio Rosales out for 14 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Central Norte will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market25 Jan 2027
“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.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Agustín Lamosa 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.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Words at Central Norte training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Maximiliano Ribero 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.
Boardroom25 Jan 2027
131% of the income goes out in wages at Central Norte
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.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
“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 dugout25 Jan 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Matías Villarreal trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
Arián Pucheta has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Central Norte 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad18 Jan 2027
A fracture rules Mauricio Rosales out for 21 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Central Norte will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market18 Jan 2027
“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 Central Norte, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
“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.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words at Central Norte training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Agustín Lamosa 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.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Gianluca Mancuso 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 dugout18 Jan 2027
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 dugout18 Jan 2027
Ramiro Costa knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Ramiro Costa trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market18 Jan 2027
The Enzo Vázquez story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Enzo Vázquez signs something — a contract at Central Norte or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Market18 Jan 2027
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Maximiliano Ribero may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad11 Jan 2027
28 days out for Mauricio Rosales after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Central Norte will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market11 Jan 2027
“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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Central Norte this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Maximiliano Ribero was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Gianluca Mancuso trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Central Norte told Pavel Fretes something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Market11 Jan 2027
The name of Franco Vedoya keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Central Norte say nothing, which says plenty.
Market11 Jan 2027
“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.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad4 Jan 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 35 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market4 Jan 2027
Erik Bodencer 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 Central Norte can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
Arián Pucheta: 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.” Central Norte have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Agustín Lamosa 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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Maximiliano Ribero was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
The manager makes an example of Lucas Herrera
“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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
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 dugout4 Jan 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Central Norte, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market4 Jan 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Erik Bodencer’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad28 Dec 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 42 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market28 Dec 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Central Norte can pretend not to have heard.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Erik Bodencer 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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Agustín Lamosa was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom28 Dec 2026
Wages swallow 230% of the Central Norte income
Every club 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 it has been tried.
The dugout28 Dec 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 dugout28 Dec 2026
Arián Pucheta has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Central Norte 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 dugout28 Dec 2026
Gonzalo Álvez 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 Central Norte, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad21 Dec 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 49 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market21 Dec 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Central Norte can pretend not to have heard.
Market21 Dec 2026
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Central Norte have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Agustín Lamosa and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words at Central Norte training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Maximiliano Ribero 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 dugout21 Dec 2026
José Arias 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 dugout21 Dec 2026
Enzo Vázquez has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Central Norte 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 dugout21 Dec 2026
Agustín Aleo 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad14 Dec 2026
Erik Bodencer damages knee ligaments — 17 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 17 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.
Squad14 Dec 2026
A fracture rules Mauricio Rosales out for 56 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Central Norte will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market14 Dec 2026
Ramiro Costa 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 Central Norte can pretend not to have heard.
Squad14 Dec 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 Central Norte this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Maximiliano Ribero was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Loan watch14 Dec 2026
“I watch every Central Norte game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Fenix runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Maximiliano Ribero trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Carlos Aguirre
“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.
Market14 Dec 2026
The name of Franco Vedoya keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Central Norte say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad7 Dec 2026
24 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Central Norte lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 63 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market7 Dec 2026
“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 Central Norte, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Erik Bodencer 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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Agustín Lamosa was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market7 Dec 2026
Everyone has stopped pretending: Fenix will make the call about Tobías Pantoja this week. Central Norte have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Arián Pucheta
“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 dugout7 Dec 2026
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Central Norte, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market7 Dec 2026
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Erik Bodencer’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad30 Nov 2026
Erik Bodencer damages knee ligaments — 31 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 31 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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 70 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market30 Nov 2026
“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.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
Joaquín Mateo: 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.” Central Norte have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Agustín Lamosa 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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words at Central Norte training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Maximiliano Ribero 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.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
240% of the income goes out in wages at Central Norte
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.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Alejandro Tapia
“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 dugout30 Nov 2026
Arián Pucheta has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Central Norte 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad23 Nov 2026
38 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Central Norte lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 77 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market23 Nov 2026
“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 Central Norte, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Agustín Lamosa and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Maximiliano Ribero was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
Enzo Vázquez 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 Enzo Vázquez is on it.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of José Arias
“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.
Market23 Nov 2026
The Enzo Vázquez story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Enzo Vázquez signs something — a contract at Central Norte or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Market23 Nov 2026
Central Norte have let the market know Erik Bodencer can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad16 Nov 2026
45 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Central Norte lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad16 Nov 2026
A fracture rules Mauricio Rosales out for 84 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Central Norte will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market16 Nov 2026
Ramiro Costa 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 Central Norte can pretend not to have heard.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Erik Bodencer and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at Central Norte training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Agustín Lamosa 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 dugout16 Nov 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 dugout16 Nov 2026
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 Tiziano Cabrera is on it.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
Elías Calderón knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Elías Calderón trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market16 Nov 2026
The name of Franco Vedoya keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Central Norte say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad9 Nov 2026
A fracture rules Mauricio Rosales out for 91 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Central Norte will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market9 Nov 2026
Erik Bodencer 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 Central Norte can pretend not to have heard.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Agustín Lamosa 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.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words at Central Norte training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Maximiliano Ribero 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 dugout9 Nov 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 dugout9 Nov 2026
Elías Calderón 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 Central Norte, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
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 terraces9 Nov 2026
Supporters make their feelings known about Enzo Vázquez
The speculation has reached the stands, and the stands have answered. Central Norte would like this settled before it becomes the only thing anybody asks about.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Central Norte. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad2 Nov 2026
A fracture rules Mauricio Rosales out for 98 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Central Norte will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market2 Nov 2026
“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 Central Norte, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
Gonzalo Álvez: 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.” Central Norte have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
The Central Norte board want somebody sold
The instruction has come from upstairs rather than from the dugout, which is the version of this conversation no manager enjoys. Somebody in that squad is now available whether the man who picks the team thinks so or not.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Agustín Lamosa 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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Words at Central Norte training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Maximiliano Ribero 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.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
Wages eat 240% of everything Central Norte earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Alejandro Tapia
“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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Central Norte will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad26 Oct 2026
A fracture rules Mauricio Rosales out for 105 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Central Norte will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market26 Oct 2026
“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 Central Norte, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Central Norte may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
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 Central Norte this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Agustín Lamosa 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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Central Norte are still strangers to each other
23 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
The manager makes an example of Joaquín Mateo
“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 dugout26 Oct 2026
Enzo Vázquez has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Central Norte 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 dugout26 Oct 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Maximiliano Ribero trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad19 Oct 2026
112 days out for Mauricio Rosales after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Central Norte will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“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.
Market19 Oct 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Central Norte can pretend not to have heard.
Squad19 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 Central Norte this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Maximiliano Ribero was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“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.
Squad19 Oct 2026
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Central Norte will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Maximiliano Ribero trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
Tiziano Cabrera has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Central Norte 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Oct 2026
120 days out for Mauricio Rosales after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Central Norte will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market12 Oct 2026
“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 Central Norte, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
“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.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Agustín Lamosa 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.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Maximiliano Ribero was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market12 Oct 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Pedro González 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.
Market12 Oct 2026
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Eduardo Ojeda is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The dugout12 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 dugout12 Oct 2026
Ramiro Costa 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 Central Norte, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad5 Oct 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 127 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market5 Oct 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Central Norte can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
Tobías Pantoja: 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.” Central Norte have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Erik Bodencer 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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Agustín Lamosa 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.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
303% of the income goes out in wages at Central Norte
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.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Alejandro Tapia, and the manager let it.
Squad5 Oct 2026
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Matías Villarreal has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad28 Sep 2026
A fracture rules Mauricio Rosales out for 134 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Central Norte will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market28 Sep 2026
“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.
Match26 Sep 2026
No end in sight to Central Norte's wait for a win
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Central Norte has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Agustín Lamosa and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Maximiliano Ribero was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Central Norte are still strangers to each other
23 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 dugout28 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Pedro Sanz
“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.
Match26 Sep 2026
A 1‑1 draw with Godoy Cruz leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market21 Sep 2026
“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.
Match19 Sep 2026
6 matches without a win for Central Norte
The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Central Norte are no longer polite ones.
Match19 Sep 2026
5 matches without a goal for Central Norte
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 5 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Squad21 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 Central Norte this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Maximiliano Ribero 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 dugout21 Sep 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.
Squad21 Sep 2026
100 games in these colours. Service of that kind gets rarer every season, and the crowd knows it.
Squad21 Sep 2026
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Central Norte will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market14 Sep 2026
“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 Central Norte, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Match12 Sep 2026
No end in sight to Central Norte's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Central Norte has to find a result from somewhere.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match12 Sep 2026
4 matches without a goal for Central Norte
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Erik Bodencer 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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Agustín Lamosa 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.
Market14 Sep 2026
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Luis Figueroa is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market14 Sep 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. José Arias 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market7 Sep 2026
The offer from Sambenedettese for Tobías Pantoja 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.
Market7 Sep 2026
“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.
Match5 Sep 2026
4 matches without a win for Central Norte
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Central Norte are no longer polite ones.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Agustín Lamosa 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 ratings7 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at Central Norte training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matías Villarreal 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.
Match5 Sep 2026
3 matches without a goal for Central Norte
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Match5 Sep 2026
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Erik Bodencer
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 36. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match26 Aug 2026
Rosario Central ended it 0‑1. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Agustín Lamosa and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market31 Aug 2026
The name of Tobías Pantoja has come up in conversations Central Norte were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Maximiliano Ribero 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 dugout31 Aug 2026
“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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Too much change too quickly at Central Norte
23 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
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 dugout31 Aug 2026
Tomás Castro 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match19 Aug 2026
The board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 115th minute. Defensa y Justicia will replay every second of the added time for a week.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 29. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Marked 7.69 at 20, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Market24 Aug 2026
Pavel Fretes 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 Central Norte can pretend not to have heard.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Erik Bodencer 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
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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words at Central Norte training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Agustín Lamosa 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 terraces24 Aug 2026
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Tomás Castro 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market17 Aug 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 ratings17 Aug 2026
A defender's goal wins it for Central Norte — 7.69
1 for Maximiliano Ribero, marked 7.69, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Agustín Lamosa 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.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Words at Central Norte training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matías Villarreal 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.
Squad17 Aug 2026
100 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
Match15 Aug 2026
Behind, and beaten by any honest reading, until minute 96. Mitre had the points in their pocket and a corner of the ground still believed, which is generally when it happens.
Match15 Aug 2026
2‑2, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Tobías Pantoja
“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 dugout17 Aug 2026
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Andrés Ojeda after the 2‑2 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market10 Aug 2026
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Prykarpattia had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
Market10 Aug 2026
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Central Norte have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Market10 Aug 2026
“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 Central Norte, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Agustín Lamosa and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Maximiliano Ribero was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
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.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Jabalí 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.
The dugout10 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Matías Moravec
“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
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Andrés Ojeda chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market3 Aug 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Central Norte can pretend not to have heard.
Market3 Aug 2026
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Maximiliano Ribero wants continental football; whether Central Norte can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Matías Villarreal and Central Norte agree another 2 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Erik Bodencer 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
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Agustín Lamosa was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market3 Aug 2026
Add another name to the list: Prykarpattia have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Juan Carabajal. The answer from Central Norte has not changed — yet.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 17. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Market3 Aug 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.
Squad3 Aug 2026
23 new faces, and Central Norte 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.