“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ferro Carril Oeste can pretend not to have heard.
Leonel Szalich 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.” Alejandro Rodríguez and Ferro Carril Oeste agree another 2 years.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Ferro Carril Oeste know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
In brief
The dugoutCarlos Cardozo is not enjoying his job description
Position 9 and 5 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.
“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 The request is on a desk at Ferro Carril Oeste, and it is not being withdrawn.
Leonel Szalich 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.
At 16 he was better than everybody his age in the division for four weeks running, which is harder than one good afternoon. Ferro Carril Oeste will try not to make too much of it.
Half the programme played, position 9, 5 on the board. Doubling it is the sum every supporter has done and the only one nobody at the club will do out loud.
Four or five weekends of consistency, measured against everybody else in the division. A quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
The dugout7 Apr 2036
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” George Foster was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Ferro Carril Oeste dressing room was either.
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.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Carlos Arias has written the date down.
Arsenal will want this one forgotten quickly: 4‑1, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Ferro Carril Oeste were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Gonzalo Larghi provided it, and the 8.86 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
The hardest thing about being 16 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Chueco did not need any: 7.77, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ferro Carril Oeste 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 Ferro Carril Oeste this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
2 goals inside twenty minutes with Gonzalo Larghi in the middle of it, and Arsenal unable to get near the ball long enough to change anything. Some matches are won before the first drink.
9 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Ferro Carril Oeste has to find a result from somewhere.
Leonel Szalich was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑4, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Chuequito was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
Position 9 and 1 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.
8 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Ferro Carril Oeste has to find a result from somewhere.
Player ratings10 Mar 2036
Chueco, 16, plays like he has been here for years — 7.94
A mark of 7.94 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 16-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
“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 Ferro Carril Oeste, and it is not being withdrawn.
Leonel Szalich 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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” George Foster after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Ferro Carril Oeste have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
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.
6 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Ferro Carril Oeste can tell you which week it ends in.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” George Foster after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
16 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Ferro Carril Oeste lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ferro Carril Oeste this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Every touch weighed, every quote parsed, every mistake replayed. Some players grow into that; some are quietly finished by it; nobody knows which until afterwards.
The words a physio says slowly. 25 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 9 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
“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 Ferro Carril Oeste, and it is not being withdrawn.
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Ferro Carril Oeste has to find a result from somewhere.
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.
Leonel Szalich 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.
34 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Ferro Carril Oeste lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Leonel Szalich 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 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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” George Foster after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
Squad11 Feb 2036
Chuequito 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.
43 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Ferro Carril Oeste lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Ferro Carril Oeste have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.
Marked 7.26 on 13 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Juan Manuel Miranda 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. Benjamín Marino 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. Martín Campos 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. Enzo Figueroa has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Leonel Szalich
52 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Ferro Carril Oeste 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 Ferro Carril Oeste this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
60 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Ferro Carril Oeste lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ferro Carril Oeste can pretend not to have heard.
Leonel Szalich was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The words a physio says slowly. 67 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.
Leonel Szalich 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. Lobo 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. Luis Muñoz 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Petiso is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
A deal that was a phone call from completion at lunchtime was dead by midnight. Ferro Carril Oeste will try again when the window opens; Racing Club may not be selling by then.
The words a physio says slowly. 74 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 medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Ferro Carril Oeste have done the hard part with Defensa y Justicia, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Ferro Carril Oeste asked and Rosario Central said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
A deal that was a phone call from completion at lunchtime was dead by midnight. Ferro Carril Oeste will try again when the window opens; Independiente may not be selling by then.
At 20 nothing has moved for months. Not backwards, which would at least be a conversation — simply nowhere, and somebody at the club has to decide whose fault that is.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Leonel Szalich signs something — a contract at Ferro Carril Oeste or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The words a physio says slowly. 81 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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ferro Carril Oeste this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Ferro Carril Oeste have gone to Racing Club 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.
90 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Ferro Carril Oeste lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“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 Ferro Carril Oeste, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Defensa y Justicia keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Leonel Szalich 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.
Sportivo Italiano wanted more than $74.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
“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 Ferro Carril Oeste, and it is not being withdrawn.
$74.0K on the table at Sportivo Italiano. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Leonel Szalich 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.
Ferro Carril Oeste asked and Rosario Central said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
A loan enquiry to Defensa y Justicia: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
$300.0K settles it between the clubs for Enzo De Luca
Rosario Central have accepted the money. What Ferro Carril Oeste do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Ferro Carril Oeste have done the hard part with River Plate, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
The name of Valentín Sánchez has come up in conversations Ferro Carril Oeste were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Racing Club have kept their man, and Ferro Carril Oeste go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Leonel Szalich signs something — a contract at Ferro Carril Oeste or anywhere else — this column belongs to 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 Ferro Carril Oeste this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Vélez have kept their man, and Ferro Carril Oeste go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Ferro Carril Oeste know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The registration window is open and the phone has started. Between now and the deadline this club will be linked with forty players and sign three, which is the usual ratio.
Leonel Szalich 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.
Leonel Szalich 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.
Full training, no reaction, and a player who wants to be picked immediately. Ferro Carril Oeste will hold him back a week and he will spend it arguing.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Leonel Szalich signs something — a contract at Ferro Carril Oeste or anywhere else — this column belongs to 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 Ferro Carril Oeste this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Ferro Carril Oeste know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Leonel Szalich 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Sebastián Pereyra trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
85 graduates, from a department now rated 4 out of 20. Nothing about the academy appears in a result, and nothing about the club’s future exists without it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Leonel Szalich signs something — a contract at Ferro Carril Oeste or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Ferro Carril Oeste, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ferro Carril Oeste this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Ferro Carril Oeste know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The coaching staff have set Carlos Alberto Colombo something separate to do. Whether it is a weakness being addressed or a strength being sharpened, nobody outside the building will know until it shows up on a Saturday.
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.
“I have watched this squad. There is more in it than the table says.” First press conference, first promise — George Foster made the one every new manager makes, and now comes the part where it gets checked.
Leonel Szalich 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
The dugoutGino Olguín is playing like a man with something to prove
27 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Ferro Carril Oeste lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“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 Ferro Carril Oeste, and it is not being withdrawn.
Leonel Szalich 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 words a physio says slowly. 34 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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ferro Carril Oeste this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
12 days since the seat came open, a list of names doing the rounds, and nobody has signed anything. Every week this drags on the shortlist gets shorter.
The compensation was agreed inside a week and the club has lost a manager it had no intention of losing. Ferro Carril Oeste start again, and start behind.
41 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Ferro Carril Oeste lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Not an interim appointment — an institution with an empty coaching office. Somebody unfamiliar will run the sessions this week, and the question of how a club gets into this state is one the board will be asked and will not answer.
“Somebody has to pick the team on Saturday, and this week that is me.” An interim appointment with no promises attached, which is how most of them start.
The words a physio says slowly. 48 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.
Ferro Carril Oeste did not want this conversation and are having it anyway. A manager wanted elsewhere is a manager whose next contract talk just became more expensive.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ferro Carril Oeste can pretend not to have heard.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Gonzalo Larghi and Ferro Carril Oeste agree another 1 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Ferro Carril Oeste, another week without a signature from Gonzalo Larghi.
It will be explained as a change for the team and it may even be one. Nobody who has worn one believes that, and neither does the man who has just had it taken away.
55 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Ferro Carril Oeste lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ferro Carril Oeste can pretend not to have heard.
Leonel Szalich 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.” Leonardo Aguirre and Ferro Carril Oeste agree another 2 years.
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 words a physio says slowly. 62 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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ferro Carril Oeste this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Nobody at Ferro Carril Oeste 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.
69 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Ferro Carril Oeste lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
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 words a physio says slowly. 76 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.
269 appearances across 10 seasons in one shirt. Careers like that are not built on purpose any more, and Ferro Carril Oeste know exactly what they have.
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Ferro Carril Oeste will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
The words a physio says slowly. 83 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Gustavo Colombo and Ferro Carril Oeste agree another 3 years.
Leonel Szalich 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.
Ferro Carril Oeste asked and Racing Club said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
A deal that was a phone call from completion at lunchtime was dead by midnight. Ferro Carril Oeste will try again when the window opens; Sarmiento may not be selling by then.
Nobody at Ferro Carril Oeste 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 words a physio says slowly. 90 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.
1 in and 6 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.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Ferro Carril Oeste have done the hard part with Sarmiento, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ferro Carril Oeste this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Rosario Central have kept their man, and Ferro Carril Oeste go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
Nobody at Ferro Carril Oeste 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.
A new face in his position and a shirt he thought he owned suddenly up for discussion. Ferro Carril Oeste have promised nothing, which is what clubs promise at this stage.
97 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Ferro Carril Oeste lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Ferro Carril Oeste and River Plate have settled on $270.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ferro Carril Oeste can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Ferro Carril Oeste have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The offer went to Sarmiento this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Leonel Szalich 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.
Ferro Carril Oeste asked and Independiente said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ferro Carril Oeste they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ferro Carril Oeste can pretend not to have heard.
The deal with Estudiantes 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.
Leonel Szalich 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.
Ferro Carril Oeste asked and Racing Club said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Ferro Carril Oeste, another week without a signature from Gonzalo Larghi.
A loan enquiry to Barracas Central: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
In brief
Transfer targetsA loan move for Franco Suárez is in the works
Ferro Carril Oeste had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Newell's Old Boys, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ferro Carril Oeste this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. River Plate have kept their man, and Ferro Carril Oeste go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Independiente have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Ferro Carril Oeste have made the call to Unión de Santa Fe. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Nobody at Ferro Carril Oeste 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ferro Carril Oeste can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Racing Club keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Ferro Carril Oeste asked and Estudiantes said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Defensa y Justicia have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
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 Leonel Szalich is on it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Valentín Sánchez trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Position 7 on 23 points. Every season is a story and this is the last line of it, and now the club has three months to decide what the next one is about.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ferro Carril Oeste can pretend not to have heard.
Ferro Carril Oeste had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Belgrano, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Leonel Szalich 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Rosario Central have kept their man, and Ferro Carril Oeste go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
100 times in these colours, in all weathers and under four or five different managers. That kind of service is quietly disappearing from the game.
The dugout11 Jun 2035
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 Interim Coach to a room that had heard them before.
19 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Ferro Carril Oeste lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Alejandro Muñoz will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Ferro Carril Oeste the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Leonel Szalich 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Talleres have kept their man, and Ferro Carril Oeste go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
26 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Ferro Carril Oeste lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Player ratings28 May 2035
José Luis Ponce, 18, plays like he has been here for years — 7.69
A mark of 7.69 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 18-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ferro Carril Oeste this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Level with 85 minutes on the clock, after an afternoon Ferro Carril Oeste had all but put away. All Boys will call it a point earned; the home dressing room will call it two given away, and both of them are right.
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.
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 Sebastián Pereyra.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Nobody at Ferro Carril Oeste 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.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Ferro Carril Oeste has been clear about where Juan Rey stands, which is more than many ever get.
7 attempts, none of them in. He got into the right places all afternoon, which is the hard part, and did the easy part badly — and that is the version of a bad day a manager can live with.
Position 6, 19 points, and a run-in that decides whether next season has Thursday nights in it. Nobody is calling it a race yet, which is what people say during one.
Player ratingsThe pass was always on for Juan Molina
459Edition
The Ferro Carril Oeste Sentinel
14 May 2035
From our football correspondentUpbeat
Player ratings14 May 2035
Chuequito, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.72
A mark of 7.72 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Leonel Szalich 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 21 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Gino Olguín signs something — a contract at Ferro Carril Oeste or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Nobody at Ferro Carril Oeste will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
In brief
The dugoutThe plan did not have a place for Joaquín Romano
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 9 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Ferro Carril Oeste is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Leonel Szalich 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.
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad7 May 2035
José Luis Ponce is the division's best young player this month
At 18 he has spent a month being better than everybody his age in the league, which is a different and harder thing than one good afternoon. Ferro Carril Oeste will try very hard not to make too much of it.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Alejandro Muñoz is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.94 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ferro Carril Oeste this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Gael Luna and Ferro Carril Oeste agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
The dugout30 Apr 2035
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Interim Coach was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Ferro Carril Oeste dressing room was either.
Chuequito, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.93
A mark of 7.93 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑0, Interim Coach could afford to be generous.
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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Leonel Szalich signs something — a contract at Ferro Carril Oeste or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
12 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Gonzalo Larghi provided it, and the 8.81 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
At 35 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.83 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Leonel Szalich 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.
At 21 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
5 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Madryn were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. José Luis Ponce provided it, and the 8.08 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ferro Carril Oeste they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Leonel Szalich was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Valentín Sánchez and Ferro Carril Oeste agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
At 18 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.
Minute 92, against San Martín, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ferro Carril Oeste this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Valentín Sánchez and Ferro Carril Oeste agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alejandro Muñoz 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 keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Ferro Carril Oeste, another week without a signature from Gonzalo Larghi.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” José Luis Ponce has his answer from Ferro Carril Oeste; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Ferro Carril Oeste, and both men came out saying it was fine.
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.
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Ferro Carril Oeste has to find a result from somewhere.
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.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
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 Leonel Szalich is on it.
Successful dribbles: 13. 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.
Leonel Szalich 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.
Successful dribbles: 18. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Player ratings19 Mar 2035
Simón Guajardo was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.04. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Valentín Medina has his answer from Ferro Carril Oeste; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Colón go through and Ferro Carril Oeste go home, 0‑0 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
0 on the scoresheet on his first appearance and a mark of 7.26 beside it. Most debuts are got through; this one was enjoyed, by him and by everybody watching it.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ferro Carril Oeste they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Leonel Szalich 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 had been thinking. Alejandro Muñoz 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 brace, and Gino Olguín takes the afternoon — 8.41
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Gino Olguín provided it, and the 8.41 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ferro Carril Oeste this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He is 16 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alejandro Muñoz was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Leonardo Aguirre 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 players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑1, Interim Coach could afford to be generous.
It is a small honour and it is not nothing: somebody watched every match in the division and decided that Gino Olguín was the best thing in any of them.
“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 Ferro Carril Oeste, and it is not being withdrawn.
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 Leonel Szalich is on it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Leonel Szalich signs something — a contract at Ferro Carril Oeste or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Leonel Szalich 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.
6 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Patronato were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Leonardo Aguirre was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout19 Feb 2035
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.” Interim Coach kept it short after the 2‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Gino Olguín signs something — a contract at Ferro Carril Oeste or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ferro Carril Oeste they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
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.
Leonel Szalich 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.” Leonardo Aguirre and Ferro Carril Oeste agree another 3 years.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Leonardo Aguirre 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.” Interim Coach after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Ferro Carril Oeste have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.13 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ferro Carril Oeste this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Fernando Méndez is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Valentino Suárez is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
“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 Ferro Carril Oeste, and it is not being withdrawn.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Benicio Ferrari 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 academy exists for exactly this morning. Martín Romero 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. Carlos Alberto Colombo 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 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 easiest signature of my career.” Gabriel Navarro and Ferro Carril Oeste agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
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 Leonel Szalich is on it.
Leonel Szalich 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 had been thinking. Leonardo Aguirre 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 clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Ferro Carril Oeste is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“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 Ferro Carril Oeste, and it is not being withdrawn.
Leonel Szalich 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.
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 Chueco is on it.
In brief
The terracesSupporters make their feelings known about Leonel Szalich
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Ferro Carril Oeste people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Leonel Szalich 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.
Ferro Carril Oeste ran out of time with Argentinos Juniors. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Ferro Carril Oeste will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Ferro Carril Oeste, another week without a signature from Gonzalo Larghi.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Chuequito keeps the shirt for now, at Ferro Carril Oeste's convenience rather than his own.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 14 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Godoy Cruz have accepted the money. What Ferro Carril Oeste do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Everything agreed with Argentinos Juniors, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Leonel Szalich 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.
$400.00 was the most the club would pay and Estudiantes 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.
Nobody at Ferro Carril Oeste 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.
Ferro Carril Oeste spent the window trying to move Alejandro Muñoz on and nobody came. He trains with a squad that has already told him he is not part of it, and both sides now wait for the next one.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Ferro Carril Oeste will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Ferro Carril Oeste and River Plate have settled on $140.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
“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 Ferro Carril Oeste, and it is not being withdrawn.
$400.00 on the table at Estudiantes. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
$11.0K was the most the club would pay and Instituto 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. All Boys have kept their man, and Ferro Carril Oeste go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
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.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Ferro Carril Oeste will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Ferro Carril Oeste have done the hard part with Godoy Cruz, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ferro Carril Oeste this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
$11.0K on the table at Instituto. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Racing Club have kept their man, and Ferro Carril Oeste go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
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.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Ferro Carril Oeste have lost him in all but the paperwork.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Ferro Carril Oeste have done the hard part with Belgrano, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Leonel Szalich 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.
Ferro Carril Oeste asked and Boca Juniors said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Ferro Carril Oeste will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ferro Carril Oeste can pretend not to have heard.
Leonel Szalich 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.
Ferro Carril Oeste have made the call to Estudiantes. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
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.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Ferro Carril Oeste will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Nobody at Ferro Carril Oeste 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Ferro Carril Oeste 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 Ferro Carril Oeste this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Ferro Carril Oeste will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Leonel Szalich 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.
Everybody saw it before anybody said it. At 36 the numbers say 3 points down on what he was, and the question for Ferro Carril Oeste is how to handle a man they owe a great deal.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Ferro Carril Oeste will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Leonel Szalich 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 easiest signature of my career.” Enzo Pérez and Ferro Carril Oeste agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Nobody at Ferro Carril Oeste 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.
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.
17 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Ferro Carril Oeste lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 84 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ferro Carril Oeste this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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 Chueco is on it.
In brief
The dugoutNicolás Medina asks for a word with the manager
24 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Ferro Carril Oeste lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 91 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Leonel Szalich 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.
31 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Ferro Carril Oeste lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Ferro Carril Oeste will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Leonel Szalich 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 easiest signature of my career.” Chuequito and Ferro Carril Oeste agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Nobody at Ferro Carril Oeste 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.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Ferro Carril Oeste will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Nobody at Ferro Carril Oeste 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.
A strip of cloth that decides nothing on the pitch and tells the dressing room whose opinion counts. The manager has made a statement without making one.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Ferro Carril Oeste, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 112 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ferro Carril Oeste this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Nobody at Ferro Carril Oeste 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.
Leonel Szalich 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.
Leonel Szalich 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.
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 easiest signature of my career.” Matías Kabalín and Ferro Carril Oeste agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than 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 Ferro Carril Oeste this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Leonel Szalich 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 Leonardo Aguirre was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Leonel Szalich 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 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.
Nobody at Ferro Carril Oeste 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ferro Carril Oeste can pretend not to have heard.
A deal that was a phone call from completion at lunchtime was dead by midnight. Ferro Carril Oeste will try again when the window opens; Atlético Tucumán may not be selling by then.
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Ferro Carril Oeste than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
Nobody at Ferro Carril Oeste 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Joaquín Romano trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
42 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Ferro Carril Oeste lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ferro Carril Oeste can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Ferro Carril Oeste have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ferro Carril Oeste this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Ferro Carril Oeste offered $200.00; Temperley 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.
A deal that was a phone call from completion at lunchtime was dead by midnight. Ferro Carril Oeste will try again when the window opens; Racing Club may not be selling by then.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Leonardo Aguirre was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Ferro Carril Oeste 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.
49 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Ferro Carril Oeste lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ferro Carril Oeste can pretend not to have heard.
Everything agreed with Racing Club, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
0 in and 6 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.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at San Telmo is saying, and nobody at Ferro Carril Oeste is enjoying the guessing.
Leonel Szalich 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.
Ferro Carril Oeste have gone to Temperley 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.
Ferro Carril Oeste asked and Talleres said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The words a physio says slowly. 56 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.
The clubs have shaken hands with Atlético Tucumán; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ferro Carril Oeste can pretend not to have heard.
Everything agreed with Estudiantes, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Leonel Szalich 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Platense have kept their man, and Ferro Carril Oeste go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
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 words a physio says slowly. 63 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.
“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 Ferro Carril Oeste, and it is not being withdrawn.
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.
Rosario Central have accepted the money. What Ferro Carril Oeste do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Ferro Carril Oeste asked and Villa Dálmine said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alejandro Muñoz was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
70 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Ferro Carril Oeste lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“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 Ferro Carril Oeste, and it is not being withdrawn.
Ferro Carril Oeste and Banfield have settled on $2.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
The deal with Platense 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ferro Carril Oeste this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Godoy Cruz have kept their man, and Ferro Carril Oeste go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The words a physio says slowly. 77 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.
“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 Ferro Carril Oeste, and it is not being withdrawn.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Ferro Carril Oeste have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: San Telmo keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Leonel Szalich 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.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Ferro Carril Oeste and Nueva Chicago, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Ferro Carril Oeste asked and Instituto said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The words a physio says slowly. 84 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ferro Carril Oeste can pretend not to have heard.
Ferro Carril Oeste and Platense have settled on $4.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
Leonel Szalich 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.
200 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
91 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Ferro Carril Oeste lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“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 Ferro Carril Oeste, and it is not being withdrawn.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.30 at 34, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Ferro Carril Oeste and San Telmo have settled on $16.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
$2.0K on the table at Banfield. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
98 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Ferro Carril Oeste lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ferro Carril Oeste can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings5 Jun 2034
Chuequito, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 7.89
A mark of 7.89 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.32 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Everything agreed with Villa Dálmine, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ferro Carril Oeste this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He is 20 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Leonardo Aguirre was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
105 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Ferro Carril Oeste lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Leonel Szalich was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The 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.
112 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Ferro Carril Oeste lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Leonel Szalich 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 Leonardo Aguirre was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Ferro Carril Oeste 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 dugout22 May 2034
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.” Interim Coach chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.