From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market11 Sep 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Player ratings11 Sep 2028
Successful dribbles: 28. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad11 Sep 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings11 Sep 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.23, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad11 Sep 2028
The manager makes an example of Leonardo Monje
“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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings4 Sep 2028
Successful dribbles: 31. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Boardroom4 Sep 2028
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Instituto
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad4 Sep 2028
Gonzalo Requena in trouble away from the ground
Every paper's favourite story and every manager's least. What happened is being dealt with internally, which is the phrase clubs use when they would rather nobody asked again.
Squad4 Sep 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Luciano Vietto and Instituto agree another 2 years.
Squad4 Sep 2028
Fernando Alarcón 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.
Match2 Sep 2028
1‑3 to Boca Juniors, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market28 Aug 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Player ratings28 Aug 2028
Successful dribbles: 23. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad28 Aug 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings28 Aug 2028
Marked 8.08 — 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.
Squad28 Aug 2028
The manager makes an example of Gustavo Abregú
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Match26 Aug 2028
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
Player ratings28 Aug 2028
A mark of 4.57 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
Market28 Aug 2028
The name of Facundo Suárez keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Instituto say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad28 Aug 2028
Joaquín Rivero asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings21 Aug 2028
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 29 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings21 Aug 2028
Defensive actions: 28, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad21 Aug 2028
Jonathan Dellarossa was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings21 Aug 2028
A performance of 9.41 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad21 Aug 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Facundo Suárez, and the manager let it.
Player ratings21 Aug 2028
Defensive actions: 20, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Match19 Aug 2028
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Oscar Garrido. 1‑0 against Deportivo Riestra, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad21 Aug 2028
Nicolás Watson knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Nicolás Watson trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Loan watch21 Aug 2028
25 starts and a season average of 6.77. The loan is doing exactly what it was arranged to do.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market14 Aug 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad14 Aug 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings14 Aug 2028
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 23 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings14 Aug 2028
Defensive actions: 22, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings14 Aug 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.85, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match12 Aug 2028
It finished 2‑0, and it was Oscar Garrido’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Instituto.
Player ratings14 Aug 2028
Marked 8.69 — 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.
Squad14 Aug 2028
“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.
Squad14 Aug 2028
Facundo Suárez knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Facundo Suárez trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match5 Aug 2028
Chastening afternoon for Instituto
A 0‑3 beating by Estudiantes was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Match5 Aug 2028
8 matches without a win for Instituto
The run now stands at 8, and the questions being asked around Instituto are no longer polite ones.
Market7 Aug 2028
“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 Instituto, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings7 Aug 2028
Successful dribbles: 26. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad7 Aug 2028
Fernando Alarcón was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad7 Aug 2028
“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.
Squad7 Aug 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Gustavo Abregú commits to Instituto for another 3 years.
Boardroom7 Aug 2028
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
Squad7 Aug 2028
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Gerardo Larraya knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings31 Jul 2028
Successful dribbles: 31. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match29 Jul 2028
7 matches without a win for Instituto
The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Instituto are no longer polite ones.
Squad31 Jul 2028
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Instituto have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad31 Jul 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad31 Jul 2028
The manager makes an example of Emanuel Bilbao
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings31 Jul 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.34, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings31 Jul 2028
Marked 8.27 — 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.
Match29 Jul 2028
It finished 2‑2, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
Squad31 Jul 2028
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Instituto, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings24 Jul 2028
Successful dribbles: 30. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match22 Jul 2028
No end in sight to Instituto's wait for a win
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Instituto has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad24 Jul 2028
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Fernando Alarcón 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.
Match22 Jul 2028
1‑3 to San Lorenzo, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings24 Jul 2028
Marked 8.26 — 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.
Squad24 Jul 2028
“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.
Squad24 Jul 2028
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Instituto, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Loan watch24 Jul 2028
21 starts and an average of 6.76. He went there to play and he is playing, which is the only thing a loan was ever for.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market17 Jul 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Instituto can pretend not to have heard.
Match15 Jul 2028
No end in sight to Instituto's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Instituto has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad17 Jul 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings17 Jul 2028
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match15 Jul 2028
1‑2 to Unión de Santa Fe, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad17 Jul 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jonathan Galván, and the manager let it.
Player ratings17 Jul 2028
A performance of 8.63 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings17 Jul 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.01, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad17 Jul 2028
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Gerardo Larraya knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market10 Jul 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Instituto can pretend not to have heard.
Squad10 Jul 2028
Fernando Alarcón 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.
Squad10 Jul 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Fernando Alarcón, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market3 Jul 2028
“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 Instituto, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad3 Jul 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Jul 2028
The manager makes an example of Facundo Ledesma
“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.
Squad3 Jul 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Gastón Rodríguez and Instituto agree another 4 years.
Squad3 Jul 2028
Facundo Suárez knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Instituto, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market3 Jul 2028
The name of Facundo Suárez keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Instituto say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market26 Jun 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad26 Jun 2028
Diego Bolaños: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Instituto have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad26 Jun 2028
Jonathan Galván was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market19 Jun 2028
“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 Instituto, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad19 Jun 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Jun 2028
“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.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Fernando Alarcón asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market19 Jun 2028
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Alberto Stegman may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
Loan watch19 Jun 2028
16 starts and a season average of 6.66. The loan is doing exactly what it was arranged to do.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings12 Jun 2028
Successful dribbles: 52. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match7 Jun 2028
Instituto bow out of the cup
Central Córdoba SdE go through and Instituto go home, 0‑1 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Market12 Jun 2028
“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 Instituto, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad12 Jun 2028
Thiago Berterame: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Instituto have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match7 Jun 2028
No end in sight to Instituto's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Instituto has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad12 Jun 2028
Fernando Alarcón was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad12 Jun 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Diego Sosa, and the manager let it.
Squad12 Jun 2028
Matías Galarza knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Matías Galarza trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Player ratings12 Jun 2028
Shots: 11, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market5 Jun 2028
“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 Instituto, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad5 Jun 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Jun 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market29 May 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Instituto can pretend not to have heard.
Squad29 May 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Instituto may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad29 May 2028
Fernando Alarcón was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market22 May 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad22 May 2028
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad22 May 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market15 May 2028
Jonás Acevedo hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Instituto can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings15 May 2028
Successful dribbles: 24. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad15 May 2028
Jonathan Galván 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.
Match13 May 2028
Talleres left with the points after a 1‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad15 May 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jonathan Dellarossa, and the manager let it.
Player ratings15 May 2028
Marked 8.56 — 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market8 May 2028
“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 Instituto, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad8 May 2028
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad8 May 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Fernando Alarcón and Instituto agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad8 May 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match6 May 2028
Defensa y Justicia left with the points after a 1‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad8 May 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings8 May 2028
Marked 8.15 — 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.
Player ratings8 May 2028
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings8 May 2028
There was no pressure on him and nowhere he had to be. Instituto lost a goal to a decision that took half a second and will be discussed all week.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings1 May 2028
Successful dribbles: 36. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market1 May 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Instituto can pretend not to have heard.
Squad1 May 2028
Lautaro Carrera: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Instituto have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad1 May 2028
Fernando Alarcón was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings1 May 2028
Defensive actions: 22. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad1 May 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Fernando Alarcón, and the manager let it.
Player ratings1 May 2028
Defensive actions: 16. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings1 May 2028
Shots: 10. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Squad1 May 2028
Matías Galarza asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match19 Apr 2028
Instituto march on in the cup
Racing are out and Instituto go through, 3‑2 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.
Market24 Apr 2028
“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 Instituto, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad24 Apr 2028
The match ball belongs to Thiago Berterame, whose 3 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.
Squad24 Apr 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings24 Apr 2028
A performance of 9.32 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings24 Apr 2028
A performance of 8.60 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad24 Apr 2028
The manager makes an example of Nicolás Watson
“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.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Matías Galarza knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Matías Galarza trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Player ratings24 Apr 2028
Successful dribbles: 13. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings17 Apr 2028
Successful dribbles: 27. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Thiago Berterame: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Instituto have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Fernando Alarcón 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.
Match15 Apr 2028
Independiente left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad17 Apr 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Emanuel Bilbao, and the manager let it.
Player ratings17 Apr 2028
Marked 8.30 — 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.
Squad17 Apr 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Emanuel Sittaro commits to Instituto for another 3 years.
Player ratings17 Apr 2028
Shots: 8. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Player ratings17 Apr 2028
5.43 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market10 Apr 2028
“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 Instituto, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings10 Apr 2028
Successful dribbles: 29. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad10 Apr 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Instituto may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad10 Apr 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match8 Apr 2028
Three points for Instituto, 2‑1 the final word against Platense in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad10 Apr 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings10 Apr 2028
Marked 8.83 — 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.
Squad10 Apr 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Thiago Berterame commits to Instituto for another 4 years.
Market10 Apr 2028
The name of Facundo Suárez keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Instituto say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings3 Apr 2028
Successful dribbles: 29. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market3 Apr 2028
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Fernando Alarcón 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.
Match1 Apr 2028
A bad afternoon for Instituto against Vélez
1‑2 to Vélez, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings3 Apr 2028
A performance of 8.29 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad3 Apr 2028
The manager makes an example of Facundo Ledesma
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad27 Mar 2028
There were 8 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Market27 Mar 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Instituto can pretend not to have heard.
Squad27 Mar 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match25 Mar 2028
Boca Juniors made Instituto work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad27 Mar 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings27 Mar 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.57, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings27 Mar 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.56, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings27 Mar 2028
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Jonathan Galván asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad20 Mar 2028
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Market20 Mar 2028
“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 Instituto, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings20 Mar 2028
Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Fernando Alarcón 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.
Match18 Mar 2028
Beaten 2‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings20 Mar 2028
Marked 8.12 — 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.
Squad20 Mar 2028
“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.
Squad20 Mar 2028
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
Loan watch20 Mar 2028
“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 Instituto, and 3 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings13 Mar 2028
Successful dribbles: 42. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad13 Mar 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad13 Mar 2028
The manager makes an example of Gonzalo Requena
“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.
Match11 Mar 2028
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings13 Mar 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.06, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Matías Galarza knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Matías Galarza trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Player ratings13 Mar 2028
Shots: 8. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Market13 Mar 2028
The name of Facundo Suárez keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Instituto say nothing, which says plenty.
Player ratings13 Mar 2028
5.64 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market6 Mar 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Instituto can pretend not to have heard.
Squad6 Mar 2028
Matías Galarza: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Instituto have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Player ratings6 Mar 2028
Successful dribbles: 26. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings6 Mar 2028
Defensive actions: 25. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad6 Mar 2028
Fernando Alarcón was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad6 Mar 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Oscar Garrido and Instituto agree another 3 years.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings28 Feb 2028
Defensive actions: 29. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings28 Feb 2028
Successful dribbles: 25. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad28 Feb 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings28 Feb 2028
Defensive actions: 21. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings28 Feb 2028
A performance of 8.80 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match26 Feb 2028
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Jonás Acevedo. 1‑0 against Estudiantes, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad28 Feb 2028
“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.
Squad28 Feb 2028
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Instituto, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad28 Feb 2028
At 23 he is in the side on merit and somebody else is watching from the bench. Places at Instituto are won quietly and lost loudly.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad21 Feb 2028
Fernando Alarcón was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings21 Feb 2028
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad21 Feb 2028
The manager makes an example of Facundo Ledesma
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings21 Feb 2028
Marked 7.99 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Instituto had the best player on the pitch.
Loan watch21 Feb 2028
“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 Instituto, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
Match19 Feb 2028
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings14 Feb 2028
Successful dribbles: 32. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Gonzalo Requena: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Instituto have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad14 Feb 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match12 Feb 2028
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Gonzalo Requena. 2‑1 against San Lorenzo, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings14 Feb 2028
Marked 8.44 — 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.
Player ratings14 Feb 2028
A performance of 8.34 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad14 Feb 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Agustín Massaccesi and Instituto agree another 3 years.
Squad14 Feb 2028
“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.
Market14 Feb 2028
The name of Facundo Suárez keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Instituto say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings7 Feb 2028
Successful dribbles: 24. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Boardroom7 Feb 2028
A new deal for the man in the dugout, and the clearest thing a board can say without calling a press conference about it. Stability is cheap to promise and expensive to deliver.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Jonathan Galván 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.
Market7 Feb 2028
The shirt still fits. Joaquín Vázquez is back at Instituto, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Market7 Feb 2028
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Market7 Feb 2028
The shirt still fits. Ricardo Cohen is back at Instituto, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Market7 Feb 2028
As if he never left: Pablo Sánchez returns
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Pablo Sánchez is a Instituto player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Match5 Feb 2028
1‑2 to Unión de Santa Fe, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad7 Feb 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jonathan Dellarossa, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market31 Jan 2028
“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 Instituto, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad31 Jan 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad31 Jan 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad24 Jan 2028
Fernando Alarcón 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.
Squad24 Jan 2028
“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.
Market24 Jan 2028
Instituto have let the market know Gastón Costas can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market17 Jan 2028
Alex Luna sold, and an era ends
$24.9M from Feyenoord for Alex Luna. Money is money, but the dressing room has lost the man it looked to.
Squad17 Jan 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Instituto may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad17 Jan 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad10 Jan 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Gonzalo Requena and Instituto agree another 4 years.
Squad10 Jan 2028
Fernando Alarcón 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.
Squad10 Jan 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Thiago Berterame, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market3 Jan 2028
“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 Instituto, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad3 Jan 2028
Alex Luna is named among the best
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. Instituto will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
Market3 Jan 2028
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Instituto heard it as anything else.
Squad3 Jan 2028
Fernando Alarcón was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad3 Jan 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ignacio Rossi and Instituto agree another 3 years.
Squad3 Jan 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad27 Dec 2027
Alex Luna in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad27 Dec 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market27 Dec 2027
Experience through the door at Instituto
Gastón Costas arrives at 33 with nothing left to prove and plenty left to pass on. Legs are a young man's currency; knowing where to stand never ages.
Squad27 Dec 2027
A new face in his position, and Jonathan Galván suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Instituto have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
Loan watch27 Dec 2027
21 appearances away from home and 4 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
Squad27 Dec 2027
Agustín Bravo asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom20 Dec 2027
Continental nights are coming to Instituto
Qualification is secured, and next season the big floodlit nights are continental ones. For the players it is a stage; for the accounts it is a lifeline; for the supporters it is passports.
Market20 Dec 2027
Racing Club come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Instituto did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Alex Luna is named among the best
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. Instituto will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
Loan watch20 Dec 2027
32 appearances at Defensores and the goals keep coming. Instituto are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Fernando Alarcón 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.
Market20 Dec 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Instituto know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad20 Dec 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad20 Dec 2027
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Fernando Alarcón keeps the shirt for now, at Instituto's convenience rather than his own.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market13 Dec 2027
The chase for Matías Galarza ended with $6.7M changing hands and Talleres out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Market13 Dec 2027
Instituto say no — this time
The offer from San Lorenzo for Diego Sosa 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.
Market13 Dec 2027
Business is business: Manuel Roffo goes
River Plate paid $6.9M and Instituto took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Alex Luna in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad13 Dec 2027
The manager makes an example of Gustavo Abregú
“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.
Market13 Dec 2027
Experience through the door at Instituto
Sergio Ocampo arrives at 35 with nothing left to prove and plenty left to pass on. Legs are a young man's currency; knowing where to stand never ages.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market6 Dec 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Instituto, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Alex Luna 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.
Market6 Dec 2027
River Plate are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Instituto will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Market6 Dec 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Instituto have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad6 Dec 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Hernán de la Fuente, and the manager let it.
Market6 Dec 2027
At 33, he has seen every situation this season can produce, twice. The legs will be managed; the head is the purchase.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad29 Nov 2027
Alex Luna in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 Nov 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad29 Nov 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Instituto, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market22 Nov 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Instituto can pretend not to have heard.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Jeremías Lázaro: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Instituto have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Loan watch22 Nov 2027
20 goals in 32 games at Defensores — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Instituto updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Alex Luna was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad22 Nov 2027
The manager makes an example of Nicolás Guerra
“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.
Market22 Nov 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Instituto know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad15 Nov 2027
Alex Luna in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 Nov 2027
16 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad15 Nov 2027
The manager makes an example of Emanuel Sittaro
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad8 Nov 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Player ratings8 Nov 2027
Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Defences have started doubling up on Facundo Suárez
18 goals and a season average of 7.23 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market1 Nov 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Instituto, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Alex Luna in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Nov 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market1 Nov 2027
Instituto bring in an old head
Damián Zamorano is 35 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Matías Tissera asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Loan watch1 Nov 2027
The goals keep arriving from Gonzalo Requena’s exile
3 goals in 14 games at Krylya Sovetov — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Instituto updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings25 Oct 2027
Nobody could get near Alex Luna
Successful dribbles: 35. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match23 Oct 2027
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 10 matches without defeat is a foundation Instituto did not have in the autumn.
Loan watch25 Oct 2027
32 appearances away from home and 20 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Alex Luna was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings25 Oct 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.81, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings25 Oct 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.29, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad25 Oct 2027
15 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Match23 Oct 2027
2‑2, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Player ratings25 Oct 2027
One lapse, one goal, and ninety minutes of honest work counting for nothing. That is the job at Instituto, and it is a cruel one.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match16 Oct 2027
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 9 matches without defeat is a foundation Instituto did not have in the autumn.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Alex Luna in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Defences have started doubling up on Alex Luna
11 goals and a season average of 7.39 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Player ratings18 Oct 2027
A performance of 9.09 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match16 Oct 2027
A 2‑1 win over Deportivo Riestra, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings18 Oct 2027
A performance of 9.01 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad18 Oct 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings18 Oct 2027
Marked 8.33 — 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.
Player ratings18 Oct 2027
Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market11 Oct 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Instituto, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match9 Oct 2027
No end in sight to Instituto's wait for a win
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Instituto has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad11 Oct 2027
18 goals and a season average of 7.30. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Match9 Oct 2027
Whatever happens, Instituto do not lose
8 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Player ratings11 Oct 2027
Successful dribbles: 23. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Alex Luna 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.
Squad11 Oct 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Manuel Roffo, and the manager let it.
Player ratings11 Oct 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.03, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match9 Oct 2027
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad4 Oct 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Fernando Alarcón commits to Instituto for another 2 years.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Alex Luna in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad4 Oct 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jeremías Lázaro, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Loan watch27 Sep 2027
32 appearances away from home and 20 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
Match25 Sep 2027
5 matches without a win for Instituto
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Instituto are no longer polite ones.
Player ratings27 Sep 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 25 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings27 Sep 2027
Successful dribbles: 24. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Alex Luna 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.
Match25 Sep 2027
Whatever happens, Instituto do not lose
7 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Squad27 Sep 2027
10 goals and a season average of 7.36. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Player ratings27 Sep 2027
Defensive actions: 20, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad27 Sep 2027
46 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad20 Sep 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Instituto may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Defences have started doubling up on Facundo Suárez
17 goals and a season average of 7.29 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Match18 Sep 2027
The wait goes on for Instituto
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.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Alex Luna in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match18 Sep 2027
Still nobody has beaten Instituto
The unbeaten run reaches 6. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Player ratings20 Sep 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings20 Sep 2027
A performance of 8.23 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match18 Sep 2027
A 2‑2 draw with Platense leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Squad20 Sep 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Matías Tissera, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings13 Sep 2027
A defender's afternoon for Franco Moyano
Defensive actions: 46. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings13 Sep 2027
Successful dribbles: 34. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match8 Sep 2027
The cup run ends for Instituto
0‑0 against Boca Juniors, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Manuel Roffo is the hero from the spot
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Manuel Roffo: 1 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
Match13 Sep 2027
Instituto refuse to drop out of the race
Position 3, 14 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Market13 Sep 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Instituto, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad13 Sep 2027
16 goals and a season average of 7.26. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Fernando Alarcón was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings13 Sep 2027
Defensive actions: 20. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings6 Sep 2027
Alex Luna runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 28. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Alex Luna in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings6 Sep 2027
Defensive actions: 21, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad6 Sep 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Manuel Roffo, and the manager let it.
Player ratings6 Sep 2027
Defensive actions: 20, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad6 Sep 2027
3 goals and a season average of 7.30. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad30 Aug 2027
A one-man rearguard from Manuel Roffo
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Player ratings30 Aug 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 27 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Loan watch30 Aug 2027
29 appearances at Defensores and the goals keep coming. Instituto are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Alex Luna was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings30 Aug 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 23 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings30 Aug 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.96, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match28 Aug 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Oscar Garrido. 2‑0 against Defensa y Justicia, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad30 Aug 2027
32 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Player ratings30 Aug 2027
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Loan watch23 Aug 2027
28 appearances at Defensores and the goals keep coming. Instituto are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Alex Luna in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings23 Aug 2027
A performance of 8.70 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Alex Luna is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.31 with 9 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Player ratings23 Aug 2027
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad23 Aug 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Rodrigo Granillo, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market16 Aug 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Player ratings16 Aug 2027
Successful dribbles: 27. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match14 Aug 2027
Beaten 4‑5, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Alex Luna 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.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Defences have started doubling up on Facundo Suárez
15 goals and a season average of 7.29 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Player ratings16 Aug 2027
A performance of 8.74 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings16 Aug 2027
A masterclass from Alex Luna
Marked 8.69 — 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.
Player ratings16 Aug 2027
Marked 8.21 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad16 Aug 2027
The manager makes an example of Diego Sosa
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Loan watch9 Aug 2027
26 appearances away from home and 18 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Alex Luna in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad9 Aug 2027
A season average of 7.27 with 14 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Match7 Aug 2027
Whatever happens, Instituto do not lose
6 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Match7 Aug 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Facundo Suárez. 2‑1 against Estudiantes, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad9 Aug 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Fernando Alarcón, and the manager let it.
Player ratings9 Aug 2027
Nobody could get near Alex Luna
Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings9 Aug 2027
Marked 8.53 — 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.
Squad9 Aug 2027
28 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad2 Aug 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Instituto may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Player ratings2 Aug 2027
Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Alex Luna 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.
Loan watch2 Aug 2027
25 appearances at Defensores and the goals keep coming. Instituto are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
Squad2 Aug 2027
The manager makes an example of Facundo Suárez
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings2 Aug 2027
A performance of 8.63 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad2 Aug 2027
64 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Match31 Jul 2027
It needed Alex Luna to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Lanús, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Market2 Aug 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Instituto know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match24 Jul 2027
3‑0, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.
Player ratings26 Jul 2027
Defensive actions: 32. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Market26 Jul 2027
The Lanús deal is off
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Manuel Roffo reports back to Instituto with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
Player ratings26 Jul 2027
Defensive actions: 30, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Alex Luna in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings26 Jul 2027
Defensive actions: 23. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Loan watch26 Jul 2027
24 appearances away from home and 16 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
Player ratings26 Jul 2027
Defensive actions: 22. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad19 Jul 2027
A one-man rearguard from Manuel Roffo
There were 8 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Market19 Jul 2027
The name of Manuel Roffo has come up in conversations Instituto were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Alex Luna 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.
Loan watch19 Jul 2027
23 appearances at Defensores and the goals keep coming. Instituto are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
Squad19 Jul 2027
The manager makes an example of Manuel Roffo
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings19 Jul 2027
One of those days for Alex Luna
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.75, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad19 Jul 2027
A season average of 7.21 with 11 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Player ratings19 Jul 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.26, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings19 Jul 2027
Marked 8.05 — 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market12 Jul 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market12 Jul 2027
Independiente paid $1.2M and Instituto took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Alex Luna in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Jul 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Valerio Olivera and Instituto agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad12 Jul 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Lautaro Espeche, and the manager let it.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Jonás Acevedo knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Jonás Acevedo trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market5 Jul 2027
The bid was some way short and Instituto did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market5 Jul 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Instituto, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad5 Jul 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Alex Luna was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad5 Jul 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Loan watch5 Jul 2027
21 appearances at Defensores and the goals keep coming. Instituto are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market28 Jun 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market28 Jun 2027
The bid was some way short and Instituto did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market28 Jun 2027
The fee is $950.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Central Norte drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Alex Luna in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Manuel Roffo asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market28 Jun 2027
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Instituto will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market21 Jun 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market21 Jun 2027
Instituto say no — this time
The offer from Deportivo Riestra for Valerio Olivera 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.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Alex Luna 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.
Market21 Jun 2027
The name of Thiago Berterame has come up in conversations Instituto were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad21 Jun 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match9 Jun 2027
A 2‑1 win over Aldosivi, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Market14 Jun 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Alex Luna in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market14 Jun 2027
Defensa y Justicia pay $860.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
Market14 Jun 2027
Huracán pay $670.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
Squad14 Jun 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Manuel Roffo, and the manager let it.
Player ratings14 Jun 2027
A performance of 8.44 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings14 Jun 2027
A performance of 8.29 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad14 Jun 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Marcelo Vaca and Instituto agree another 3 years.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market7 Jun 2027
Instituto say no — this time
The offer from Racing Club for Facundo Suárez was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Market7 Jun 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Alex Luna 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.
Loan watch7 Jun 2027
18 appearances at Defensores and the goals keep coming. Instituto are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
Market7 Jun 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Instituto have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad7 Jun 2027
John Córdoba gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings31 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 40. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market31 May 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad31 May 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad31 May 2027
Alex Luna in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match26 May 2027
Agustín Massaccesi scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Tigre, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Loan watch31 May 2027
17 appearances at Defensores and the goals keep coming. Instituto are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
Player ratings31 May 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.27, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad31 May 2027
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Lautaro Maldonado knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Squad31 May 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market24 May 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad24 May 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad24 May 2027
Alex Luna was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market17 May 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Instituto, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings17 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 25. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad17 May 2027
Alex Luna in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad17 May 2027
The manager makes an example of Manuel Roffo
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings17 May 2027
Marked 8.03 — 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.
Match15 May 2027
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
Player ratings17 May 2027
Shots: 10, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
Squad17 May 2027
Jonás Acevedo asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Squad17 May 2027
Alex Luna is not enjoying his job description
Played out of position, hooked on the hour, asked to be somebody he is not — the details vary and the mood does not. Instituto have a player doing his work under protest.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Market10 May 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Instituto can pretend not to have heard.
Squad10 May 2027
Matías Tissera: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Instituto have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match8 May 2027
Instituto make it 4 in a row
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Instituto have 4 straight wins of it.
Squad10 May 2027
Manuel Roffo 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.
Match8 May 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Facundo Suárez. 2‑1 against Deportivo Riestra, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings10 May 2027
Marked 8.55 — 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.
Squad10 May 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Jeremías Lázaro commits to Instituto for another 4 years.
Player ratings10 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Loan watch10 May 2027
14 appearances away from home and 12 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market3 May 2027
Jonás Acevedo hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Instituto can pretend not to have heard.
Squad3 May 2027
Leonel Mosevich: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Instituto have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match1 May 2027
Nobody wants to play Instituto right now
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.
Squad3 May 2027
Alex Luna in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match1 May 2027
Three points for Instituto, 3‑2 the final word against Temperley in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings3 May 2027
Marked 9.44 — 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.
Player ratings3 May 2027
One of those days for Alex Luna
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.97, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings3 May 2027
Marked 8.53 — 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.
Player ratings3 May 2027
A performance of 8.16 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match21 Apr 2027
A 2‑1 win over Mitre, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Market26 Apr 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad26 Apr 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Jonathan Galván was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
Marked 9.02 — 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.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
A performance of 8.17 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.14, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad26 Apr 2027
The manager makes an example of Joaquín Leites
“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.
Squad26 Apr 2027
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market19 Apr 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Jonathan Galván was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings19 Apr 2027
Defensive actions: 21. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings19 Apr 2027
Defensive actions: 21, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Match17 Apr 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Facundo Suárez. 1‑0 against Independiente, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings19 Apr 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.41, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings19 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad19 Apr 2027
The manager makes an example of Agustín Bravo
“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.
Loan watch19 Apr 2027
11 appearances away from home and 9 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings12 Apr 2027
Alex Luna runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 41. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market12 Apr 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Instituto, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad12 Apr 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad12 Apr 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match10 Apr 2027
Facundo Suárez scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Platense, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Squad12 Apr 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market5 Apr 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market5 Apr 2027
The bid was some way short and Instituto did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad5 Apr 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Alex Luna and Instituto agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Jonathan Galván 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.
Match3 Apr 2027
Three points for Instituto, 2‑1 the final word against Vélez in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings5 Apr 2027
A performance of 8.57 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad5 Apr 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings5 Apr 2027
There was no pressure on him and nowhere he had to be. Instituto lost a goal to a decision that took half a second and will be discussed all week.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market29 Mar 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Instituto, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad29 Mar 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings29 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match27 Mar 2027
Boca Juniors left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad29 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Juan Ignacio Méndez, and the manager let it.
Player ratings29 Mar 2027
Shots: 9, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Manuel Roffo knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Manuel Roffo trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Loan watch29 Mar 2027
7 goals in 8 games at Defensores — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Instituto updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market22 Mar 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Instituto can pretend not to have heard.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Manuel Roffo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match20 Mar 2027
Beaten 2‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
Marked 8.93 — 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.
Squad22 Mar 2027
The manager makes an example of Manuel Roffo
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
Marked 8.39 — 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.
Squad22 Mar 2027
John Córdoba knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Instituto, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Loan watch22 Mar 2027
7 appearances at Defensores and the goals keep coming. Instituto are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 33 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Market15 Mar 2027
Iván Erquiaga hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Instituto can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 25 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 24. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad15 Mar 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Juan Romero gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market8 Mar 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Instituto can pretend not to have heard.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Iván Erquiaga: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Instituto have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Jonathan Galván commits to Instituto for another 2 years.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Jonathan Galván was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
A performance of 9.19 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
Marked 8.74 — 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.
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
A performance of 8.68 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market1 Mar 2027
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Instituto heard it as anything else.
Squad1 Mar 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings1 Mar 2027
A performance of 9.16 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match27 Feb 2027
Three points for Instituto, 2‑1 the final word against Estudiantes in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings1 Mar 2027
A performance of 8.93 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings1 Mar 2027
Marked 8.62 — 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.
Player ratings1 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad1 Mar 2027
The manager makes an example of Agustín Bravo
“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.
Squad1 Mar 2027
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad22 Feb 2027
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.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
A defender's afternoon for Franco Moyano
Defensive actions: 32. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
Nobody could get near Alex Luna
Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Fernando Alarcón was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
Defensive actions: 23. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
Defensive actions: 23, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad22 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Matías Tissera, and the manager let it.
Match20 Feb 2027
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Lanús defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
Squad22 Feb 2027
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings15 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 30. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market15 Feb 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Instituto, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad15 Feb 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 Feb 2027
The manager makes an example of Manuel Roffo
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Match13 Feb 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings15 Feb 2027
Shots: 10, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad8 Feb 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 10 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market8 Feb 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Instituto, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad8 Feb 2027
14 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Fernando Alarcón was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market8 Feb 2027
As if he never left: Bruno Méndez returns
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Bruno Méndez is a Instituto player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Market8 Feb 2027
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Miguel Ángel Castillo is a Instituto player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Market8 Feb 2027
As if he never left: Miguel Costa returns
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Miguel Costa is a Instituto player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad8 Feb 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market1 Feb 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad1 Feb 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Luciano Vietto and Instituto agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad1 Feb 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match25 Jan 2027
Instituto are in among the leaders
Position 1 and 23 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Market25 Jan 2027
Instituto say no — this time
The offer from Audace Cerignola for Lautaro Maldonado 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.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Fernando Alarcón was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market18 Jan 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad18 Jan 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Giuliano Cerato asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad11 Jan 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Instituto may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market11 Jan 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Instituto, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Fernando Alarcón 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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Lautaro Maldonado, and the manager let it.
Squad11 Jan 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Giuliano Cerato trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market11 Jan 2027
Instituto have let the market know Lautaro Espeche can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad4 Jan 2027
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Instituto have had the benefit of it.
Market4 Jan 2027
Iván Erquiaga hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Instituto can pretend not to have heard.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Manuel Roffo in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad4 Jan 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Joaquín Rivero and Instituto agree another 3 years.
Market4 Jan 2027
Still no offer on the table, and Luciano Vietto’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.
Squad4 Jan 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match28 Dec 2026
Instituto are in among the leaders
Position 1 and 23 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Market28 Dec 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market28 Dec 2026
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Lautaro Espeche will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Instituto the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Fernando Alarcón 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.
Boardroom28 Dec 2026
Wages eat 94% of everything Instituto earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Market28 Dec 2026
Union Magdalena are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Instituto will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market21 Dec 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Instituto, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad21 Dec 2026
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Instituto have had the benefit of it.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Manuel Roffo in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Dec 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Alex Guaricuyu and Instituto agree another 3 years.
Squad21 Dec 2026
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Loan watch21 Dec 2026
9 appearances away from home and 4 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad14 Dec 2026
Fernando Alarcón 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.
Squad14 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Giuliano Cerato, and the manager let it.
Market14 Dec 2026
Experience through the door at Instituto
Luciano Vietto arrives at 33 with nothing left to prove and plenty left to pass on. Legs are a young man's currency; knowing where to stand never ages.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 13. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market14 Dec 2026
Nicolás Guerra is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Instituto has been clear about where Nicolás Guerra stands, which is more than many ever get.
Market14 Dec 2026
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market7 Dec 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Market7 Dec 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market7 Dec 2026
Manuel Roffo wants to know where this is going
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Instituto hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Squad7 Dec 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match30 Nov 2026
23 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Franco Jara 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.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
Wages eat 118% of everything Instituto earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market23 Nov 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Instituto, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad23 Nov 2026
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Franco Jara in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad16 Nov 2026
Franco Jara 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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Gerardo Larraya asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad9 Nov 2026
Franco Jara in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad9 Nov 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad9 Nov 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Hernán de la Fuente trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match2 Nov 2026
23 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Jonás Acevedo 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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
38 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Defensive actions: 36, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Market26 Oct 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 27 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Manuel Roffo in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Instituto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.58, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Alex Luna runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match24 Oct 2026
A 1‑0 win over Unión de Santa Fe, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Defences have started doubling up on Oscar Garrido
4 goals and a season average of 7.39 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Squad26 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Leonel Mosevich, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 28. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad19 Oct 2026
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.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Manuel Roffo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
A masterclass from Alex Luna
Marked 8.92 — 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.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.35, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad19 Oct 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.