“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Independiente Rivadavia can pretend not to have heard.
Ammar Ramadan 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.
Independiente Rivadavia 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.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Nicolás Orsini and Independiente Rivadavia agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Álex Arce reports back to Independiente Rivadavia with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Independiente Rivadavia can pretend not to have heard.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Instituto have kept their man, and Independiente Rivadavia go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Santiago Cena 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 Tomás Bottari was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Independiente Rivadavia has been clear about where Alex Vigo stands, which is more than many ever get.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Stefano Moreyra trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Independiente Rivadavia can pretend not to have heard.
0-3, and long before the end the away end had switched from encouragement to something considerably more pointed. Nobody rings a phone-in about losing narrowly.
There comes a point where a club either backs its own ambition or admits it does not have any. Independiente Rivadavia have paid $3.1M for Matías Borgogno, which is the loudest way there is of saying which one it chose.
Every run ends on an afternoon somebody had marked down as routine. This one went 10 matches, which is long enough that a town had stopped counting, and short enough that it will remember exactly who stopped it.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Emanuel Díaz has just signed for Independiente Rivadavia, and for once the answer mattered.
The tie is over and the right side of it is theirs. 2‑1 on the night, a dressing room that will not come down for a day and a half, and a next round nobody has thought about yet.
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Independiente Rivadavia scored in the 115th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
Independiente Rivadavia have gone to San Martín SJ with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Transfer targets5 Jun 2028
$140.0K settles it between the clubs for Emanuel Díaz
Racing have accepted the money. What Independiente Rivadavia do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Ammar Ramadan 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.
Ammar Ramadan 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. Tomás Bottari 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.
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 Tomás Muro is on it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Alex Vigo signs something — a contract at Independiente Rivadavia 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 Independiente Rivadavia 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 Stefano Moreyra was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A 1‑1 draw with Huracán leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The dugout22 May 2028
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Ricardo Russo was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Independiente Rivadavia dressing room was either.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Facundo Mater trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tomás Bottari was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Independiente Rivadavia told Luis Ángel Díaz something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
“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.
Ninety minutes of very little, and then everything at once. The winner arrived in the 86th, and Atlético Tucumán spent what remained of the match appealing to the referee rather than chasing the ball.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Independiente Rivadavia know 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 Independiente Rivadavia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Tomás Bottari 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 8.02 — 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.
Squad8 May 2028
A place in the month's best eleven for Sheyko Studer
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Sheyko Studer has come out of that comparison in the side, and Independiente Rivadavia have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑1, Ricardo Russo could afford to be generous.
Walter Reynoso, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.98
A mark of 7.98 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.
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.76 for the rest of it.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Álex Arce. 3‑1 against Aldosivi, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Facundo Mater 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.
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stefano Moreyra 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 afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Independiente Rivadavia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Facundo Mater 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.
Successful dribbles: 15. 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 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.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Independiente Rivadavia has been clear about where Facundo Ortíz stands, which is more than many ever get.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Tigre? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
“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 Independiente Rivadavia, and it is not being withdrawn.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Ammar Ramadan. 2‑0 against Sarmiento, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Facundo Mater 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.
Player ratings17 Apr 2028
Sheyko Studer was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.17. 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 players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑0, Ricardo Russo could afford to be generous.
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.
Ammar Ramadan 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.
4 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Independiente Rivadavia can tell you which week it ends in.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stefano Moreyra 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 had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Independiente Rivadavia, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout10 Apr 2028
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Ricardo Russo was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Independiente Rivadavia dressing room was either.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Independiente Rivadavia have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Ammar Ramadan 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 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Facundo Mater 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.
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Independiente Rivadavia will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Independiente Rivadavia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Gimnasia La Plata in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
“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.
They sit in position 10 and they will be waiting. Away form is where a season shows its true character, and this side has a point to make about its own.
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Stefano Moreyra has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Independiente Rivadavia can pretend not to have heard.
Santiago Cena 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. Stefano Moreyra 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.
8 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
“The 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.
Successful dribbles: 14. 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Independiente Rivadavia have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
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.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Independiente Rivadavia are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Independiente Rivadavia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Facundo Mater 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.
9 combined actions and 7.00. The job he did is the one that shows up as other people looking good, and the only reliable way to notice it is to watch what happens on the afternoons he is missing.
“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.
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.84 for the rest of it.
Ammar Ramadan 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.” José Florentín and Independiente Rivadavia agree another 3 years.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Independiente Rivadavia can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Facundo Mater 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.
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Independiente Rivadavia has to find a result from somewhere.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Independiente Rivadavia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stefano Moreyra 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 dugout28 Feb 2028
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 1‑2 Ricardo Russo left the room before anybody could ask which.
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Independiente Rivadavia may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
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.
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.
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.
9 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Independiente Rivadavia have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Luis Ángel Díaz and Independiente Rivadavia agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Ammar Ramadan and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Tomás Bottari 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 had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Independiente Rivadavia, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Independiente Rivadavia may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Independiente Rivadavia has to find a result from somewhere.
Ammar Ramadan 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.
5 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stefano Moreyra 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 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.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Facundo Pérez 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. Ricardo Martínez 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.
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Independiente Rivadavia can pretend not to have heard.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stefano Moreyra 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.
Santiago Cena 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 has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Tomás Bottari signs something — a contract at Independiente Rivadavia 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 Independiente Rivadavia, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“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 Independiente Rivadavia, and it is not being withdrawn.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tomás Bottari 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 had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Independiente Rivadavia, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Independiente Rivadavia can pretend not to have heard.
Ammar Ramadan 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. Stefano Moreyra 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.
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 Marcos Narváez is on it.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and Independiente Rivadavia have no good answer.
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Facundo Mater has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
Independiente Rivadavia ran out of time with Instituto. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.
Ammar Ramadan 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 Stefano Moreyra was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Huracán have kept their man, and Independiente Rivadavia go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
9 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.
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Independiente Rivadavia will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Independiente Rivadavia can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have shaken hands with Instituto; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. Independiente Rivadavia will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
Ammar Ramadan 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.
A deal that was a phone call from completion at lunchtime was dead by midnight. Independiente Rivadavia will try again when the window opens; Maipú may not be selling by then.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Independiente Rivadavia know it.
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad3 Jan 2028
Tomás Bottari 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.
Independiente Rivadavia asked and Maipú 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 had been thinking. Stefano Moreyra 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.
Facundo Mater 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and José Florentín trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Independiente Rivadavia know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The chase for Ammar Ramadan ended with $12.6M changing hands and Gil Vicente out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Rodrigo Atencio 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.
Boards get told what they have done wrong for years and hear nothing on the days they get it right. This is one of those days: Ammar Ramadan from Gil Vicente for $12.6M, and a ticket office having a very good morning.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stefano Moreyra 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.
Independiente Rivadavia asked and Newell's Old Boys said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
11 goals in 29 games at Sol de America — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Independiente Rivadavia updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
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.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Independiente Rivadavia people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Fabrizio Sartori has gone, the accounts have $4.9M in them, and the supporters have the feeling of having been sold something themselves. Good business and a good decision are not always the same thing.
Lanús paid $4.9M and Independiente Rivadavia took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Iván Villalba 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. Tomás Bottari 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Racing Club have kept their man, and Independiente Rivadavia go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Independiente Rivadavia have lost him in all but the paperwork.
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
$12.6M on the table at Gil Vicente. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
“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 Independiente Rivadavia, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Independiente Rivadavia is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
Fabrizio Sartori 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. Stefano Moreyra 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.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Independiente Rivadavia may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stefano Moreyra 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 had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Independiente Rivadavia, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Independiente Rivadavia know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
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 Joaquín Ibáñez is on it.
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 José Florentín has written the date down.
“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 Independiente Rivadavia, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Alejo Osella will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Independiente Rivadavia the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tomás Bottari was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Nicolás Bolcato trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Nobody at Independiente Rivadavia 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.
“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 Independiente Rivadavia, 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.” Independiente Rivadavia have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Iván Villalba 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 Stefano Moreyra was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and José Florentín trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Independiente Rivadavia has been clear about where Marcos Narváez stands, which is more than many ever get.
“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 Independiente Rivadavia, and it is not being withdrawn.
José Florentín 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.
Successful dribbles: 22. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
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 paperwork is done long before the player is. Renzo Lo Bianco has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Independiente Rivadavia have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Ricardo Russo after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
16 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Independiente Rivadavia lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
José Florentín 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.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Independiente Rivadavia know it.
0‑2 to Rosario Central, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout1 Nov 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 0‑2 Ricardo Russo left the room before anybody could ask which.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Sheyko Studer trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Independiente Rivadavia has been clear about where Nahuel Suárez stands, which is more than many ever get.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 11 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
23 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Independiente Rivadavia 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 Independiente Rivadavia can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Independiente Rivadavia they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
1 for Tomás Bottari, marked 7.90, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Fernando Bravo has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
Iván Villalba 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.
30 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Independiente Rivadavia lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Position 15 and 7 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.
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Agustín Córdoba has agreed terms with San Martín SJ for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
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 happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Álex Arce. 2‑0 against Tigre, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
In brief
Player ratingsMatías Fernández was on a different afternoon to everybody else
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tomás Bottari was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Independiente Rivadavia, and 6 appearances in 11 say he has earned the hearing.
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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Luis Sequeira trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“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 Independiente Rivadavia, and it is not being withdrawn.
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.89 for the rest of it.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 5 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Independiente Rivadavia and Sarmiento in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stefano Moreyra 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.
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
Facundo Mater 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.
In brief
Player ratingsMatías Fernández was on a different afternoon to everybody else
“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 Independiente Rivadavia, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Independiente Rivadavia is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Independiente Rivadavia may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Axel Leiva has agreed terms with Tigre for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Iván Villalba 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 Stefano Moreyra was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Central Córdoba SdE will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Walter Reynoso has pre-agreed a move to Independiente Rivadavia, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
11 goals in 29 games at Sol de America — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Independiente Rivadavia updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
16 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Independiente Rivadavia has to find a result from somewhere.
Position 15 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.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Independiente Rivadavia may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Tomás Bottari and Independiente Rivadavia agree another 5 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 Independiente Rivadavia 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 Tomás Bottari was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Barracas Central will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Mateo Zárate has pre-agreed a move to Independiente Rivadavia, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
15 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Independiente Rivadavia has to find a result from somewhere.
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Stefano Moreyra was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Facundo Mater 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.
“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 Independiente Rivadavia, 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 Independiente Rivadavia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stefano Moreyra 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.
Argentinos Juniors will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Alan Ovelar has pre-agreed a move to Independiente Rivadavia, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Independiente Rivadavia, and 2 appearances in 6 say he has earned the hearing.
“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 Independiente Rivadavia, 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.
Add another name to the list: Rubin have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Fabrizio Sartori. The answer from Independiente Rivadavia has not changed — yet.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Independiente Rivadavia they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Independiente Rivadavia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Independiente Rivadavia know it.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Tomás Bottari 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 happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
13 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Independiente Rivadavia has to find a result from somewhere.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Independiente Rivadavia have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
Iván Villalba 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 Stefano Moreyra was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
Atlético Tucumán left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings23 Aug 2027
Diego Crego was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.09. 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 dugout23 Aug 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 1‑2 Ricardo Russo left the room before anybody could ask which.
12 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Independiente Rivadavia can pretend not to have heard.
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
4 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Independiente Rivadavia can tell you which week it ends in.
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.
Marcos Narváez and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout16 Aug 2027
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 Ricardo Russo to a room that had heard them before.
In brief
The dugoutThe plan did not have a place for José Florentín
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Independiente Rivadavia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Tomás Bottari 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.
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Independiente Rivadavia can tell you which week it ends in.
25 appearances at Sol de America and the goals keep coming. Independiente Rivadavia are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
The dugout9 Aug 2027
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 Ricardo Russo to a room that had heard them before.
10 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.
“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 Independiente Rivadavia, and it is not being withdrawn.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Independiente Rivadavia they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
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. River Plate have kept their man, and Independiente Rivadavia go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. José Aguirre 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. Federico Moreno 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.
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Villa Dálmine had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Fabrizio Sartori reports back to Independiente Rivadavia with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
Independiente Rivadavia and Huracán have settled on $350.0K. 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 Independiente Rivadavia can pretend not to have heard.
3 in and 7 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stefano Moreyra 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.
1‑5 against Gimnasia La Plata, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Villa San Carlos waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Independiente Rivadavia is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
8 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Independiente Rivadavia has to find a result from somewhere.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Independiente Rivadavia have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Independiente Rivadavia can pretend not to have heard.
Independiente Rivadavia have gone to Sarmiento 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.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Independiente Rivadavia and Gimnasia La Plata in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tomás Bottari was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Independiente Rivadavia people have started saying his name in the past tense.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Matías Fernández and Independiente Rivadavia agree another 4 years.
Fabrizio Sartori 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.
Independiente Rivadavia offered $110.0K; Deportivo Riestra 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.
The name of Alejo Osella has come up in conversations Independiente Rivadavia were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
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.
Independiente Rivadavia 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Independiente Rivadavia they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The fee is $1.6M, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Barracas Central drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Iván Villalba 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.
Independiente Rivadavia have gone to Deportivo Riestra 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Stefano Moreyra was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
Independiente Rivadavia 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.
The clubs have shaken hands with Barracas Central; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
The offer from Wadi Degla for Santiago Cena 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Joaquín Ibáñez and Independiente Rivadavia agree another 4 years.
Marcos Narváez 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.
Nobody at Independiente Rivadavia 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Independiente Rivadavia, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Independiente Rivadavia have lost him in all but the paperwork.
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 approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
The dugout21 Jun 2027
Tomás Bottari 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.
Everything agreed with Barracas Central, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
The name of Nicolás Bolcato has come up in conversations Independiente Rivadavia were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Bahia keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Independiente Rivadavia asked and Maipú 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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Independiente Rivadavia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and José Florentín trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Independiente Rivadavia know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The offer from Independiente for Fabrizio Sartori 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.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Bautista Carboni has, at Independiente Rivadavia, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
He is 20, and nobody at Independiente Rivadavia signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
Marcos Narváez 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 shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Independiente Rivadavia will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
7 goals in 16 games at Sol de America — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Independiente Rivadavia updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Iván Villalba 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.
Nobody at Independiente Rivadavia 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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Fabrizio Sartori signs something — a contract at Independiente Rivadavia or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
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.
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. José Florentín has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Independiente Rivadavia has to find a result from somewhere.
Fabrizio Sartori 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. Stefano Moreyra 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 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.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Ezequiel Bonifacio has his answer from Independiente Rivadavia; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
There was no pressure on him and nowhere he had to be. Independiente Rivadavia lost a goal to a decision that took half a second and will be discussed all week.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Independiente Rivadavia, and both men came out saying it was fine.
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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Independiente Rivadavia have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stefano Moreyra 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.
He won it back and then made something of it, which is two jobs and the reason the scoreline looks the way it does. 9 combined actions and a mark of 6.98, and not one of them will make a highlights package.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Independiente Rivadavia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Ricardo Russo after 1‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Independiente Rivadavia has to find a result from somewhere.
Ezequiel Bonifacio 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Facundo Ortíz and Independiente Rivadavia agree another 4 years.
The dugout10 May 2027
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 0‑2 defeat, delivered by Ricardo Russo to a room that had heard them before.
7 goals in 13 games at Sol de America — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Independiente Rivadavia updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
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.
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.
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.
Iván Villalba 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Nicolás Bolcato has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Facundo Ortíz and Independiente Rivadavia agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
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 midfielder is measured on whether the team functions when he is on the pitch, which is nearly impossible to see and completely obvious in retrospect. 9 actions, 6.96, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Alex Vigo’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Independiente Rivadavia needing him to play as if none of it matters.
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 Joaquín Ibáñez is on it.
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 Álex Arce has written the date down.
5 goals in 10 games at Sol de America — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Independiente Rivadavia updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and Independiente Rivadavia have no good answer.
Iván Villalba 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.
The goal that put Belgrano ahead was still being replayed on the concourse when Independiente Rivadavia equalised, 3 minutes later. Leads are only worth what you do with them.
Goalkeepers do not get to make mistakes; they get to make goals. He made one, he knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
“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.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
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.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Independiente Rivadavia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
2 goals inside twenty minutes with Maximiliano Salas in the middle of it, and Huracán unable to get near the ball long enough to change anything. Some matches are won before the first drink.
Marked 8.24. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Independiente Rivadavia.
“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 dugout5 Apr 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.” Ricardo Russo kept it short after the 2‑1 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
The team at the top of the table next, and the honest measure of where this side actually is. Anybody can beat the club below them; the question is what happens against Belgrano.
José Florentín 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Tomás Bottari trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Independiente Rivadavia told Alejo Osella something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Nobody at Independiente Rivadavia 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.
Huracán next, and one man in the Independiente Rivadavia dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Independiente Rivadavia will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Independiente Rivadavia know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
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 Independiente Rivadavia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
Tomás Bottari 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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Ricardo Russo after 3‑4, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
There was no pressure on him and nowhere he had to be. Independiente Rivadavia lost a goal to a decision that took half a second and will be discussed all week.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Independiente Rivadavia may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Iván Villalba 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 Stefano Moreyra was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Something was said to Stefano Moreyra and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
Successful dribbles: 14. 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 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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Tomás Bottari signs something — a contract at Independiente Rivadavia or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
A 1‑0 win over Barracas Central, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Santiago Cena 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 dugout8 Mar 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Ricardo Russo kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
The team at the top of the table next, and the honest measure of where this side actually is. Anybody can beat the club below them; the question is what happens against Atlético Tucumán.
Nobody at Independiente Rivadavia 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Independiente Rivadavia, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Stefano Moreyra was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Marked 8.23 — 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Independiente Rivadavia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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.
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.
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 Kevin Vázquez is on it.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Fabrizio Sartori. 1‑0 against Mitre, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 1‑0, Ricardo Russo could afford to be generous.
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
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.
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.
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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Fabrizio Sartori. 1‑0 against Banfield, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Marked 6.94 on 9 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
Successful dribbles: 15. 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.
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
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.” Ricardo Russo, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
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.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Independiente Rivadavia may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
5 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stefano Moreyra 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 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.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Enzo Herrera 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. Pato 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. Gustavo Rossi 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Independiente Rivadavia 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 Stefano Moreyra was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Ezequiel Bonifacio’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Independiente Rivadavia needing him to play as if none of it matters.
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 Marcos Narváez is on it.
He used to be one of the options. He is now one of the men the options are picked around, and the change happened quietly enough that only the dressing room noticed on the day.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Independiente Rivadavia, another week without a signature from Sheyko Studer.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Independiente Rivadavia, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Nobody at Independiente Rivadavia 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.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Independiente Rivadavia. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stefano Moreyra 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.
Santiago Cena 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.
In brief
The dugoutKevin Vázquez has become a man the manager trusts
The dugoutGonzalo Ríos asks for a word with the manager
“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 Independiente Rivadavia, and it is not being withdrawn.
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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Leonard Costa and Independiente Rivadavia agree another 4 years.
Marcos Narváez 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.
Nobody at Independiente Rivadavia 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.
It is the least glamorous business a club does and the reason seasons do not collapse in February. Nahuel Suárez is here for the weeks when three men are injured and somebody still has to play.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Independiente Rivadavia, another week without a signature from Facundo Ortíz.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Kevin Vázquez trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Sol de America waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Independiente Rivadavia is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
“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 Independiente Rivadavia, and it is not being withdrawn.
The kind of year that ends with a name being read out in a hall. Independiente Rivadavia had the benefit of it every week and now have the problem of everybody else knowing.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Independiente Rivadavia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Tomás Bottari's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Independiente Rivadavia can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Boca Juniors keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Tomás Bottari 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Atlético Mineiro have kept their man, and Independiente Rivadavia go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Nobody at Independiente Rivadavia 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.
Qualification is done, and next season the floodlights come on for something bigger. A stage for the players, oxygen for the accounts and a passport for everybody else.
The kind of year that ends with a name being read out in a hall. Independiente Rivadavia had the benefit of it every week and now have the problem of everybody else knowing.
Add another name to the list: Colo-Colo have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Tomás Bottari. The answer from Independiente Rivadavia has not changed — yet.
Everything agreed with Boca Juniors, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Independiente Rivadavia had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Atlético Mineiro, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Santiago Cena is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stefano Moreyra 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.
Ezequiel Bonifacio 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.
Iván Villalba 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.
A loan enquiry to Atlético Mineiro: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
A loan enquiry to Atlético Mineiro: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Tomás Bottari trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
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 Luis Sequeira is on it.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Independiente Rivadavia. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
“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.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Liniers waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Independiente Rivadavia is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
The deal with Huracán 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 Independiente Rivadavia 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 Maximiliano Salas was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Independiente Rivadavia has been clear about where Iván Villalba stands, which is more than many ever get.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Álex Arce, and the manager let it.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Tomás Bottari's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Luis Ángel Díaz is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Independiente Rivadavia may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Maximiliano Salas 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.
Leonel Bucca 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.
Iván Villalba 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 not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Independiente Rivadavia told Tomás Bottari something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
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 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 Stefano Moreyra has written the date down.
Iván Villalba 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.
Tomás Bottari 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.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Luis Ángel Díaz, and the manager let it.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Tomás Bottari's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
“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.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Independiente Rivadavia has been clear about where Ezequiel Bonifacio stands, which is more than many ever get.
Marked 4.94. Nothing he attempted worked and by the hour mark he had stopped attempting much, which is the part a manager notices rather than the mistakes.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Independiente Rivadavia can pretend not to have heard.
The first defeat in 5 matches. The manager will say it had to come; the dressing room will say it did not have to come against River Plate; the supporters will say both, in that order, all 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 Independiente Rivadavia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Emmanuel Gómez Riga is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
“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.
1 for Tomás Bottari, marked 7.81, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Maximiliano Salas was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Tomás Bottari. 2‑1 against Atlético Tucumán, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Two sides from the top of the table, one afternoon, and a month of talk decided in ninety minutes. Independiente Rivadavia will not use the word title this week and will not stop thinking it.
Marked 8.29 — 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.
Iván Villalba 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.
At 21 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.
A 3‑2 win over Barracas Central, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Maximiliano Salas was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
2 goals inside twenty minutes with Tomás Bottari in the middle of it, and Barracas Central unable to get near the ball long enough to change anything. Some matches are won before the first drink.
Marked 8.16 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Stefano Moreyra and Independiente Rivadavia agree another 4 years.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Independiente Rivadavia 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 Kevin Vázquez is on it.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Matías Salvo’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Independiente Rivadavia needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at Independiente Rivadavia that is a harder question to answer.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Álex Arce provided it, and the 9.30 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
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.” Diego Crego and Independiente Rivadavia agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Ricardo Russo on a 3‑1 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Independiente Rivadavia have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Up for the corner, and Tomás Bottari delivers — 7.70
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Tomás Bottari scored, was marked 7.70, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Iván Villalba 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. Maximiliano Salas 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 squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Ricardo Russo on a 3‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Santiago Cena is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Victorio Ramis has his answer from Independiente Rivadavia; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Ricardo Russo on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Maximiliano Salas was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 4 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Ezequiel Bonifacio and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout14 Sep 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 1‑3 Ricardo Russo left the room before anybody could ask which.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Leonel Bucca, and the manager let it.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
Somebody else is better right now than Luis Sequeira
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 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.
Bruno Méndez 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 demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Alex Vigo is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
He used to be one of the options. He is now one of the men the options are picked around, and the change happened quietly enough that only the dressing room noticed on the day.
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.
Gimnasia La Plata next, and one man in the Independiente Rivadavia dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
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.
Argentinos Juniors go through and Independiente Rivadavia go home, 0‑2 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms 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 Independiente Rivadavia can pretend not to have heard.
Minute 88, against Racing Club, 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.
Santiago Cena 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.
11 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.
3 goals to the good, and then a slow surrender of everything that had been earned. Maximiliano Salas will not be the one blamed for it, but nobody at Independiente Rivadavia escapes the conversation that follows a collapse like this.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
A brace, and Kevin Vázquez takes the afternoon — 8.28
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Kevin Vázquez provided it, and the 8.28 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
7.54, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
Iván Villalba 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. Maximiliano Salas 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.
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
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.
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.78 for the rest of 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 Independiente Rivadavia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.78 on the card, and the Independiente Rivadavia support went home talking about one name.
The dugout17 Aug 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.” Ricardo Russo, on a 2‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
Every signing waits for it and every press conference asks about it until it comes. It has come, Independiente Rivadavia have their man off the mark, and the second one is always easier.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Rosario Central in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Álex Arce and Independiente Rivadavia agree another 4 years.
Iván Villalba 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. José Luna 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. Pablo Pereyra 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. Ezequiel Herrera 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. Juan Pablo Suárez is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Ricardo Russo after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
0‑5 against Argentinos Juniors, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” José Florentín and Independiente Rivadavia agree another 3 years.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Maximiliano Salas 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.
12 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
The dugout3 Aug 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 0‑5 Ricardo Russo left the room before anybody could ask which.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Independiente Rivadavia, and both men came out saying it was fine.