Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 113 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“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 The request is on a desk at Chiapas, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chiapas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The chase for Luis Ramirez ended with $180.0K changing hands and Veracruz out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Chiapas have gone to Santos Laguna with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
At 23 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Chiapas offered $20.0K; Toluca said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Jaime Gómez 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 list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Osciel De La Cruz may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 120 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“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 The request is on a desk at Chiapas, and it is not being withdrawn.
$1.6M was the most the club would pay and Cruz Azul were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
The deal with Veracruz is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Alex Castro and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Jaime Gómez 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.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Hugo Ochoa 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.
At 26 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 129 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The offer from Santos Laguna for Alex Castro 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Chiapas can pretend not to have heard.
$1.2M on the table at Cruz Azul. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Alex Castro 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 most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. Chiapas will quote 16 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
$18.0K on the table at Toluca. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Words at Chiapas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jaime Gómez 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 paperwork is done long before the player is. Daniel Haces has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Chiapas have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Chiapas will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Alex Castro 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.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Máximo Rodríguez is living that version at Chiapas, and it tends to show in the first month.
Squad31 May 2027
Words at Chiapas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jaime Gómez is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chiapas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jaime Gómez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Chiapas know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
In brief
The dugoutMiguel Núñez knocks on the manager's door
Alex Castro and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad17 May 2027
Jaime Gómez 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.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Chiapas will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Alex Castro 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.
Squad10 May 2027
Words at Chiapas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jaime Gómez is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Marco Lainez is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The words a physio says slowly. 16 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 27 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“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 Chiapas, and it is not being withdrawn.
Alex Castro 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 May 2027
Jaime Gómez 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.
23 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Chiapas lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Chiapas will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chiapas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Jaime Gómez 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Chiapas know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
30 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Chiapas lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Chiapas will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chiapas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The words a physio says slowly. 38 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.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Chiapas will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Alex Castro 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.
In brief
SquadWords at Chiapas training over how hard people work
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Chiapas will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Chiapas can pretend not to have heard.
Every paper's favourite story and every manager's least. What happened is being dealt with internally, which is the phrase clubs use when they would rather nobody asked again.
Elías Hernández 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 64 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Alex Castro and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Jaime Gómez 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.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Chiapas. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Chiapas will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chiapas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Jaime Gómez falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
In brief
The dugoutIrving Zurita knocks on the manager’s door
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.
Alex Castro was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jaime Gómez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Gil Giovanni Burón will call it something else in private.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
Somebody else is better right now than Darvin Chávez
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Chiapas will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Alex Castro and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jaime Gómez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Cesar Romo 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.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Chiapas, another week without a signature from Jaime Gómez.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Christian Moreno after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
In brief
The dugoutDarvin Chávez dropped after a run of poor form
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Chiapas will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“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 Chiapas, and it is not being withdrawn.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Irving Zurita was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Gil Giovanni Burón has his answer from Chiapas; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Something was said to Darvin Chávez and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Chiapas can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chiapas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jaime Gómez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Elías Hernández.
The dugout22 Feb 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.” Christian Moreno kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
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.
Elías Hernández 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.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Words at Chiapas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jaime Gómez 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.
“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 dugout15 Feb 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 Christian Moreno left the room before anybody could ask which.
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.
Nobody at Chiapas is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Osciel De La Cruz’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Chiapas needing him to play as if none of it matters.
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.
Alex Castro and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jaime Gómez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Christian Moreno after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Marvin Piñón will call it something else in private.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Chiapas. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
“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 Chiapas, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Chiapas close the window on a squad of their own making
2 in and 0 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Alex Castro and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Words at Chiapas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jaime Gómez 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.
A goalkeeper’s error has no defender behind it to tidy it away. He knew before the ball crossed the line, the crowd knew a second later, and there is nothing anybody can say tonight.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Christian Moreno after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Two goals and a mark of 8.62 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Chiapas can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chiapas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Words at Chiapas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jaime Gómez 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.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Irving Zurita will call it something else in private.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Christian Moreno after the 2‑2 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
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.
In brief
SquadA Chiapas teenager takes the young player award
Alex Castro wins it after the whistle should have gone
90 minutes played. Alex Castro found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and Morelia went from a point to nothing inside one movement.
Alex Castro 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.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words at Chiapas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jaime Gómez 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Hugo Weckmann 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.
Marked 8.21 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Gil Giovanni Burón will call it something else in private.
The dugout18 Jan 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.” Christian Moreno kept it short after the 2‑1 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chiapas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Jaime Gómez 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Puebla have kept their man, and Chiapas go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Hugo Vega is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Both clubs in the mire, one fixture between them, and a ground that will be louder and more frightened than at any point in the season. Chiapas know what is at stake and so does everybody in the away end.
It needed Hugo Weckmann to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Pachuca, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Christian Moreno was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Chiapas dressing room was either.
In brief
The dugoutIrving Zurita dropped after a run of poor form
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Tijuana have kept their man, and Chiapas go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Irving Zurita 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chiapas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Hiram Mier was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
Puebla next, and one man in the Chiapas dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
In brief
Player ratingsThe chances came and went for Hugo Weckmann
The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.
Alex Castro 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Kevin Lozano and Chiapas agree another 3 years.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Hiram Mier 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.
Behind, and beaten by any honest reading, until minute 95. Cruz Azul had the points in their pocket and a corner of the ground still believed, which is generally when it happens.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
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.
Alex Castro 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Nestor Rodriguez is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Irving Zurita 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 supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑4, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
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.
6 goals in one match, Hugo Weckmann on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Chiapas and Pumas UNAM.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jaime Gómez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chiapas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jaime Gómez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Luis Sánchez’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Chiapas needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Hiram Mier 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
Words at Chiapas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Irving Zurita 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.
Something was said to Elías Hernández and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Christian Moreno after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Alex Castro 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 Nov 2026
Words at Chiapas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jaime Gómez 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Hugo Weckmann 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.
6 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.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Christian Moreno on a 2‑1 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
Jaime Gómez 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.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Kevin Alvarez 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.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Irving Zurita 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 door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
Jaime Gómez is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 1‑4 Christian Moreno left the room before anybody could ask which.
20 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Chiapas lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chiapas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Words at Chiapas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Irving Zurita 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Juan Cantú and Chiapas agree another 3 years.
The dugout2 Nov 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.” Christian Moreno chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
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.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Rodolfo Montes’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Chiapas needing him to play as if none of it matters.
27 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Chiapas lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Alex Castro 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.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Juan Cantú has just signed for Chiapas, and for once the answer mattered.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Jaime Gómez 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.
Marked 8.18. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Chiapas.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Christian Moreno, on a 2‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
Somebody else is better right now than Irving Zurita
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of José Saldivar
The words a physio says slowly. 35 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.
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Chiapas can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
Alex Castro 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 Oct 2026
Words at Chiapas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Irving Zurita 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.
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.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Christian Moreno after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
The words a physio says slowly. 42 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Christian Lozano is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Juan Reyes 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.
Two goals and a mark of 8.96 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
He will be fined, he will apologise, and he will play on Saturday. The order of those three tells you everything about what a football club actually values.
Hiram Mier 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.
He is 22 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.
Alex Castro was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Miguel Núñez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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 dugout28 Sep 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Christian Moreno to a room that had heard them before.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
Somebody else is better right now than Darvin Chávez
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
Toluca next, and one man in the Chiapas dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chiapas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Morelia left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words at Chiapas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aarón Arredondo 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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Christian Moreno after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Club America next, and one man in the Chiapas dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jaime Gómez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Marco Ramirez is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Roberto Rodriguez has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Morelia next, and one man in the Chiapas dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
That is the business done at Chiapas until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chiapas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Miguel Núñez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
20 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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Christian Moreno after 1‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Daniel Amador 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.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Pachuca in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
In brief
The dugoutMiguel Núñez knocks on the manager’s door
Player ratingsHugo Weckmann beats them one at a time
The offer from Veracruz for Daniel Amador 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.
“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 Chiapas, and it is not being withdrawn.
Alex Castro 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.
Chiapas offered $110.0K; Pumas UNAM said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
At 22 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.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Carlos Higuera, and the manager let it.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Words at Chiapas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aarón Arredondo 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.
Veracruz go through and Chiapas go home, 0‑1 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.
Alex Castro 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.
Chiapas have gone to Pumas UNAM with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Jaime Gómez 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 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.
0‑3 to Monterrey, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Hiram Mier was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Fernando Ramírez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑3 defeat, delivered by Christian Moreno to a room that had heard them before.
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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Chiapas, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Toluca is saying, and nobody at Chiapas is enjoying the guessing.
Alex Castro 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.
Aarón Arredondo was the name on every phone-in, and the club has gone and signed him for $600.0K. For one week the board can do no wrong, which is a week most boards never get.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Javier Marquez is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Gerardo Arteaga 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 academy exists for exactly this morning. Andres Herrera 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.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Jorge Vega 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.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Words at Chiapas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aarón Arredondo 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.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Jaime Gómez has just signed for Chiapas, and for once the answer mattered.
$600.0K on the table at Atlas. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
7 goals in one match, Ricardo Meléndez on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Chiapas and Tigres.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Jaime Gómez 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.