18 Feb 2027
Thursday
Process
29 Edition

The Junior Chronicle

15 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Déiber Caicedo

Successful dribbles: 45. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

A fracture rules Óscar Cabezas out for 56 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Junior will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Squad

Words exchanged at Junior

Cristian Barrios and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Squad

Words at Junior training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jannenson Sarmiento is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

The dugout

Mateo García 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.

Market

No place for Julián Guevara in the plan

“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Julián Guevara has his answer from Junior; what he does with it is the next window’s story.

The dugout

Francisco Fydriszewski has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Junior will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.

The dugout

The manager’s verdict

“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Miguel Valencia was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Junior dressing room was either.

The dugout

Yimmi Chará does not fit this one

Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.

In brief

Back issues
28 Edition

The Junior Chronicle

8 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Óscar Cabezas breaks a bone — 64 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 64 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Market

Miller Bacca turns Hapoel Kfar Saba down

“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.

Squad

Tempers go at Junior

Luis Romo 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.

Squad

Junior count the cost of losing Juan David Ríos

16 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

Market

Junior may not be able to give Jermein Peña what he wants

It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Jermein Peña wants continental football; whether Junior can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.

Squad

Jannenson Sarmiento falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

The dugout

No hiding place for Jeffersson Martínez

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jeffersson Martínez, and the manager let it.

The dugout

Cristian Barrios gets picked when it counts

Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Cristian Barrios is on it.

The dugout

The view from the dugout

“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Miguel Valencia chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.

In brief

27 Edition

The Junior Chronicle

1 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

A brace, and Luis Muriel takes the afternoon — 9.23

There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Luis Muriel provided it, and the 9.23 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.

Squad

A fracture rules Óscar Cabezas out for 72 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Junior will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

The dugout

Jean Carlos Pestaña keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Junior may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Market

Jeffersson Martínez 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 Junior can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Mauro Silveira wants European nights

The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.

Squad

Luis Romo 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 Junior this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Junior get the job done against Deportivo Pereira

A 3‑1 win over Deportivo Pereira, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

Player ratings

One of those days for Guillermo Paiva

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.12, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

The dugout

Daniel Rivera 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.

In brief

26 Edition

The Junior Chronicle

25 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

The dugout

Éder Balanta keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Junior may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

A fracture rules Óscar Cabezas out for 83 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Junior will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Player ratings

Guillermo Paiva scores twice — 8.47

Two goals and a mark of 8.47 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.

Market

Junior turn down Zlate Moravce for Miller Bacca

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Match

4 matches without a win for Junior

The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Junior are no longer polite ones.

Squad

A falling-out at Junior

Cristian Barrios and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Player ratings

Déiber Caicedo was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 22. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

Boardroom

2 academy players handed senior numbers at Junior

The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.

Match

Guillermo Paiva’s goal not enough for Junior

Guillermo Paiva scored, and precious little else went right: 2‑3 to La Equidad, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.

In brief

25 Edition

The Junior Chronicle

18 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

90 days out for Óscar Cabezas after a fracture

A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Junior will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.

Squad

Words exchanged at Junior

Cristian Barrios and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Squad

Words at Junior training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jannenson Sarmiento is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

The dugout

Francisco Fydriszewski gets picked when it counts

Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Francisco Fydriszewski is on it.

The dugout

Carlos Pérez 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.

Market

Luis Muriel linked with a move away

The name of Luis Muriel keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Junior say nothing, which says plenty.

Squad

Carlos Pérez: “I am not a substitute”

“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Junior will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.

Market

The shop window has Julián Guevara in it

Junior have let the market know Julián Guevara can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.

The dugout

Andrés Ibargüen 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 Junior, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

24 Edition

The Junior Chronicle

11 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

97 days out for Óscar Cabezas after a fracture

A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Junior will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.

Market

Miller Bacca turns Adelaide United down

“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.

Market

Junior turn down Al-Faisaly for Jeinner Fuentes

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Squad

Cristian Barrios signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Cristian Barrios commits to Junior for another 4 years.

Squad

Tempers go at Junior

Cristian Barrios 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.

Market

Andrés Amaya wants European nights

The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.

The dugout

No hiding place for Jeffersson Martínez

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jeffersson Martínez, and the manager let it.

The dugout

When it matters, Mauro Silveira plays

It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.

The dugout

Cristian Barrios 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 Cristian Barrios trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

In brief

23 Edition

The Junior Chronicle

4 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Yohandry Orozco puts it in writing

“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 Junior, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Cristian Barrios 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 Junior this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

Junior may not be able to give Mateo García what he wants

It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Mateo García wants continental football; whether Junior can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.

Market

Adelaide United watching Miller Bacca

The interest is real enough to have reached print. Junior have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.

Squad

Words at Junior training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jean Carlos Pestaña is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Squad

Déiber Caicedo signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Déiber Caicedo and Junior agree another 3 years.

Market

Independiente Medellin expected to open talks for Fabián Ángel

Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Junior will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.

The dugout

The manager has not finished forgetting Luis Muriel's mistake

Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.

Squad

Too much change too quickly at Junior

11 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.

In brief

22 Edition

The Junior Chronicle

28 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Kevin Pérez puts it in writing

“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 Junior, and it is not being withdrawn.

Market

Junior spend $970.0K to raise the standard

This is not cover and nobody is pretending it is. $970.0K has been paid because Jeinner Fuentes is straightforwardly better than what was already here, and the club has decided to stop waiting.

Market

Junior may not be able to give Jean Carlos Pestaña what he wants

It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Jean Carlos Pestaña wants continental football; whether Junior can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.

Market

Cerro Largo join the queue for Jeinner Fuentes

Add another name to the list: Cerro Largo have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Jeinner Fuentes. The answer from Junior has not changed — yet.

Squad

A falling-out at Junior

Luis Romo and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Jannenson Sarmiento falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

The dugout

Julián Guevara gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

The dugout

When it matters, Éder Balanta plays

It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.

Squad

Jeinner Fuentes is a square peg at Junior

The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.

In brief

21 Edition

The Junior Chronicle

21 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

The dugout

Guillermo Paiva keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Junior may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Market

Cristian Barrios wants European nights

The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.

Squad

Words exchanged at Junior

Luis Romo and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Squad

A row about effort at Junior

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Julián Guevara was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad

The formation has left Andrés Amaya behind

Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Junior will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.

Squad

Luis Romo needs a bigger stage

He is doing things every Saturday that nobody around him can answer. It is flattering for a season and a problem after that, and Junior know which stage they are at.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Andrés Ibargüen

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

The dugout

Francisco Fydriszewski gets picked when it counts

Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Francisco Fydriszewski is on it.

The dugout

Luis Muriel 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 Luis Muriel trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

In brief

20 Edition

The Junior Chronicle

14 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Déiber Caicedo beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 37. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Match

Guillermo Paiva lights up a European night for Junior

1‑1 against Talleres, and a performance that will be described to people who were not there for the rest of the season. Guillermo Paiva was at the centre of the description.

Market

Luis Romo arrives at Junior in a $7.1M statement of intent

There comes a point where a club either backs its own ambition or admits it does not have any. Junior have paid $7.1M for Luis Romo, which is the loudest way there is of saying which one it chose.

Transfer targets

Jhonatan Candia’s move to Junior collapses on the table

Fee agreed, terms agreed, and a scan that said otherwise. He goes back to Barracas Central; Junior go back to the market; and both will insist there is no story here.

Market

Junior spend $3.0M to raise the standard

This is not cover and nobody is pretending it is. $3.0M has been paid because Andrés Amaya is straightforwardly better than what was already here, and the club has decided to stop waiting.

Market

Mateo García arrives at Junior in a $900.0K statement of intent

There comes a point where a club either backs its own ambition or admits it does not have any. Junior have paid $900.0K for Mateo García, which is the loudest way there is of saying which one it chose.

Transfer targets

Junior baulk at the price for Josen Escobar

America de Cali wanted more than $880.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.

Squad

Daniel Rivillo gets the move he always wanted

Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Daniel Rivillo has just signed for Junior, and for once the answer mattered.

The terraces

Junior spend $7.1M on the signing the town wanted

It is the rarest sequence in football: supporters ask for something, and the club goes and does it. $7.1M for Luis Romo, and for one week nobody is complaining about anything.

In brief

19 Edition

The Junior Chronicle

7 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Transfer targets

Junior make their move for Luis Romo

$7.1M on the table at Guadalajara. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.

The dugout

Pablo Ortiz keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Junior may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Transfer targets

An offer of $3.0M for Andrés Amaya

Junior have gone to Fortaleza CEIF with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.

Transfer targets

An offer of $2.7M for Jhonatan Candia

Junior have gone to Barracas Central with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Pablo Mina

Junior asked and Cortulua said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Market

Jermein Peña has his eye on Europe

It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Junior can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.

Squad

Kevin De La Hoz arrives at the club he grew up with

Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Kevin De La Hoz has, at Junior, and the first month will show what that does to a man.

Squad

Luis Muriel falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Squad

Cristian Barrios 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 Junior this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

In brief

  • The dugout The manager has not finished forgetting Luis Muriel's mistake
  • Squad 7 new faces, and Junior are still learning each other
  • The dugout Brayan Moreno gets it from the manager
18 Edition

The Junior Chronicle

30 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Player ratings

Déiber Caicedo beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 32. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Match

Junior come up short in Europe

2‑3 away to the standard of Carabobo. Nobody will pretend this was a scandal; the gap is real, it is measurable, and closing it is a project rather than a team talk.

The dugout

Andrés Ibargüen says Junior went back on their word

“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 ratings

Éder Balanta, 33, rolls back the years — 7.85

There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.85 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.

Market

Junior may not be able to give Mauro Silveira what he wants

It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Mauro Silveira wants continental football; whether Junior can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.

Squad

A row about effort at Junior

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Luis Muriel was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad

A falling-out at Junior

Cristian Barrios and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Match

Éder Balanta at the heart of a fast Junior start

2 goals inside twenty minutes with Éder Balanta in the middle of it, and Carabobo unable to get near the ball long enough to change anything. Some matches are won before the first drink.

The dugout

The team sheet said everything about Luis Muriel

Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Luis Muriel.

In brief

  • Boardroom Doors closed at Junior
  • The dugout The manager’s verdict
  • The dugout Julián Guevara gets it from the manager
17 Edition

The Junior Chronicle

23 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Words exchanged at Junior

Cristian Barrios and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Squad

A row about effort at Junior

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jean Carlos Pestaña was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

No hiding place for José Enamorado

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to José Enamorado, and the manager let it.

The dugout

Jermein Peña has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Junior will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.

The dugout

Teo Gutiérrez 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.

The dugout

Daniel Rivera has been promised minutes

A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Daniel Rivera has written the date down.

In brief

16 Edition

The Junior Chronicle

16 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Dilan Villarreal signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Dilan Villarreal commits to Junior for another 4 years.

Squad

Éder Balanta 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 Junior this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Luis Muriel falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Daniel Rivera

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

The dugout

Jean Carlos Pestaña gets picked when it counts

Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Jean Carlos Pestaña is on it.

Squad

No place for Brayan Carabalí in the new shape

He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Junior are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.

The dugout

Kevin Pérez is still paying for one afternoon at Junior

Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.

Market

Mauro Silveira linked with a move away

The name of Mauro Silveira keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Junior say nothing, which says plenty.

The dugout

A door opens for Éder Balanta

He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.

In brief

15 Edition

The Junior Chronicle

9 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Junior beaten on the continent

0‑2 against Wanderers, and an evening that measured the gap rather than the ninety minutes. Nothing about it was a disgrace and nothing about it was close.

Squad

A move Brayan Carabalí would have made for nothing

There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Brayan Carabalí is living that version at Junior, and it tends to show in the first month.

Squad

Luis Muriel falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Squad

Cristian Barrios 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 Junior this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The dugout

No hiding place for Mauro Silveira

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mauro Silveira, and the manager let it.

Boardroom

Nobody left the Junior dressing room in a hurry

The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.

The dugout

The manager has not finished forgetting Luis Muriel's mistake

Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.

The dugout

Miguel Valencia answers for it

“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.

Squad

Junior are still strangers to each other

5 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.

In brief

14 Edition

The Junior Chronicle

2 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Junior may not be able to give Jorge Cardona what he wants

It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Jorge Cardona wants continental football; whether Junior can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.

The dugout

No hiding place for Dilan Villarreal

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Dilan Villarreal, and the manager let it.

Squad

Words at Junior training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jean Carlos Pestaña is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

The dugout

Junior keep their word to Yimmi Chará

Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.

Squad

Dilan Villarreal: “I am not a substitute”

“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Junior will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.

Squad

Dilan Villarreal makes the team of the month

Four or five weekends of consistency, measured against everybody else in the division. A quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.

In brief

13 Edition

The Junior Chronicle

26 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

A European night to remember for Junior

1‑0 against Wanderers, under lights, against people who do not speak the same language as the crowd. These are the evenings a club measures its decade in, and there are never as many of them as anybody expects.

The dugout

Luis Muriel keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Junior may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Market

Jean Carlos Pestaña wants European nights

The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.

Squad

A row about effort at Junior

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Luis Muriel was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad

Words exchanged at Junior

Cristian Barrios and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Squad

400 appearances for Yimmi Chará

400 games in these colours. Service of that kind gets rarer every season, and the crowd knows it.

Player ratings

Jean Carlos Pestaña shuts the door

Defensive actions: 19, 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 ratings

Ninety minutes of Guillermo Paiva at his very best

Marked 8.09. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Junior.

Squad

Óscar Cabezas signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Óscar Cabezas and Junior agree another 3 years.

In brief

12 Edition

The Junior Chronicle

19 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Junior may not be able to give Cristian Barrios what he wants

It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Cristian Barrios wants continental football; whether Junior can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.

Squad

Luis Muriel falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Squad

Tempers go at Junior

Cristian Barrios was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

The dugout

No hiding place for Andrés Ibargüen

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Andrés Ibargüen, and the manager let it.

The dugout

Luis Muriel has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Junior will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.

Squad

Óscar Cabezas is a square peg at Junior

The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.

The dugout

Daniel Rivera 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.

Market

Talks stall between Junior and Jorge Cardona

“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.

Market

Mauro Silveira linked with a move away

The name of Mauro Silveira keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Junior say nothing, which says plenty.

In brief

11 Edition

The Junior Chronicle

12 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Jaguares take the points off Junior

Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Squad

Cristian Barrios 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 Junior this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

A row about effort at Junior

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jean Carlos Pestaña was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Match

Francisco Fydriszewski answers Jaguares immediately

Conceding is one thing; the response is what tells you about a dressing room. Francisco Fydriszewski had Junior level again within 4 minutes, and Jaguares never got to play with a lead at all.

Boardroom

Doors closed at Junior

The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.

Squad

Too much change too quickly at Junior

17 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.

The dugout

Miguel Valencia: “No excuses”

“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑3, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.

Player ratings

Déiber Caicedo was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 15. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

The dugout

Fabián Ángel 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.

In brief

10 Edition

The Junior Chronicle

5 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Jannenson Sarmiento was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 38. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

Match

Junior do the business in Europe

0‑0. Continental football is where a club finds out what it actually is, and Junior came through the finding-out well against Talleres.

Market

Jermein Peña wants European nights

The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.

Match

Whatever happens, Junior 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.

Squad

Luis Muriel falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Squad

A falling-out at Junior

Cristian Barrios and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

The dugout

No hiding place for Francisco Fydriszewski

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Francisco Fydriszewski, and the manager let it.

Match

Junior find a way past Cortulua

Cortulua made Junior work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Jermein Peña

17 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.

In brief

  • Player ratings The afternoon belonged to Brayan Moreno
  • The dugout The manager’s verdict
  • The dugout Mauro Silveira has become a man the manager trusts
9 Edition

The Junior Chronicle

28 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Mauro Silveira keeps Junior in it on his own

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.

Market

Junior may not be able to give Mauro Silveira what he wants

It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Mauro Silveira wants continental football; whether Junior can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.

Squad

A falling-out at Junior

Éder Balanta and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Luis Muriel falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

The dugout

Julián Guevara 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.

Match

Junior share the spoils with Deportivo Cali

A 1‑1 draw with Deportivo Cali leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.

The dugout

Francisco Fydriszewski 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 Francisco Fydriszewski trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

Player ratings

Déiber Caicedo was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 14. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

The dugout

The view from the dugout

“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Miguel Valencia chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.

In brief

8 Edition

The Junior Chronicle

21 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

The knee: Daniel Socarras out for 17 days

17 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Junior lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

Match

Guillermo Paiva lights up a European night for Junior

3‑1 against Carabobo, and a performance that will be described to people who were not there for the rest of the season. Guillermo Paiva was at the centre of the description.

Squad

A day Guillermo Paiva will not forget

3 goals in one game. The first was taken well, the second was taken greedily, and by the third the crowd were simply waiting for him to get the ball.

Player ratings

Ninety minutes of Guillermo Paiva at his very best

Marked 9.69. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Junior.

Squad

Tempers go at Junior

Cristian Barrios 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.

Squad

Words at Junior training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jean Carlos Pestaña is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Player ratings

One of those days for Brayan Moreno

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.11, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Match

Junior refuse to lose to Independiente Medellin

A point taken on 86 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.

The dugout

No place for Francisco Fydriszewski on the big day

He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Junior pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.

In brief

7 Edition

The Junior Chronicle

14 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Daniel Socarras damages knee ligaments — 27 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 27 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.

Market

Not going: Miller Bacca stays at Junior

“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Arsenal Tula had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.

Squad

Julián Guevara gets the move he always wanted

Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Julián Guevara has just signed for Junior, and for once the answer mattered.

Squad

Words at Junior training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Luis Muriel is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Market

David Caicedo steps up from the Junior academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. David Caicedo has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.

Market

One of our own: Leonardo Moreno joins the Junior first team

Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Leonardo Moreno is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.

Squad

Junior are still strangers to each other

16 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Yimmi Chará

Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

The dugout

Half-satisfied: Miguel Valencia on the draw

“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.

In brief

6 Edition

The Junior Chronicle

7 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Daniel Socarras damages knee ligaments — 35 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 35 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.

Player ratings

Déiber Caicedo beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 32. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Player ratings

Age has not caught Luis Muriel yet — 7.89

At 35 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.89 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.

Market

Junior say no — this time

The offer from Arda for Miller Bacca 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.

Squad

Words at Junior training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Luis Muriel is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Squad

A falling-out at Junior

Cristian Barrios and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Match

Union Magdalena take the points off Junior

Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Luis Muriel

“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.

Squad

A step back for Jean Carlos Pestaña at Junior

Somebody has moved past him. It is not a dropping and it is worse than one, because a dropping is about a Saturday and this is about where he stands.

In brief

5 Edition

The Junior Chronicle

31 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

Junior bow out of the cup

Cortulua go through and Junior go home, 1‑6 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.

Player ratings

Jannenson Sarmiento was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 28. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

The terraces

A cup hiding at Cortulua leaves Junior explaining themselves

1-6, and long before the end the away end had switched from encouragement to something considerably more pointed. Nobody rings a phone-in about losing narrowly.

Player ratings

Vintage Francisco Fydriszewski — 7.81

At 33 every good afternoon gets called a throwback, and this one was: 7.81, and nobody on the pitch better.

Squad

A falling-out at Junior

Dilan Villarreal and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Match

Nobody could stop scoring

7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Junior and Cortulua in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.

Market

Cristian Barrios has his eye on Europe

It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Junior can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.

Squad

Words at Junior training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jean Carlos Pestaña is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Match

Junior find a way past Deportivo Pasto

Deportivo Pasto made Junior work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.

In brief

4 Edition

The Junior Chronicle

24 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

Cup progress for Junior

A 2‑0 win over Patriotas, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?

Match

A hiding for Junior

Beaten 0‑3 by Deportivo Pereira, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.

Player ratings

Jesús Rivas scores twice — 8.61

Two goals and a mark of 8.61 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.

Market

Jean Carlos Pestaña has his eye on Europe

It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Junior can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.

Squad

Dilan Villarreal 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 Junior this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Junior training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Luis Muriel is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Dilan Villarreal

“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.

Match

The run is over for Junior

4 matches without defeat, and then Deportivo Pereira. Nobody at the ground pretended it would go on forever; nobody expected it to stop here either.

Boardroom

Doors closed at Junior

The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.

In brief

3 Edition

The Junior Chronicle

17 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Triumph

Squad

4 goals for Déiber Caicedo

The match ball belongs to Déiber Caicedo, whose 4 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.

Match

Junior through in the cup

A 8‑4 win over Barranquilla, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.

Squad

A day Yohandry Orozco will not forget

3 goals in one game. The first was taken well, the second was taken greedily, and by the third the crowd were simply waiting for him to get the ball.

Player ratings

Vintage Yohandry Orozco — 9.73

At 35 every good afternoon gets called a throwback, and this one was: 9.73, and nobody on the pitch better.

Market

Miller Bacca says no to Central Coast Mariners

“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Miller Bacca had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.

Match

Junior cannot stop winning

3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.

Squad

Jean Carlos Pestaña 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 Junior this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

12 goals as Junior and Barranquilla go for it

Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 12 goals between Junior and Barranquilla, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.

Squad

Words at Junior training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Luis Muriel is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

In brief

2 Edition

The Junior Chronicle

10 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

Guillermo Paiva scores twice — 9.01

Two goals and a mark of 9.01 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.

Market

Hapoel Haifa come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and Junior did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

Squad

Mauro Silveira signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Mauro Silveira commits to Junior for another 4 years.

Squad

Words exchanged at Junior

Jean Carlos Pestaña and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Market

Jermein Peña has his eye on Europe

It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Junior can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.

Player ratings

Déiber Caicedo 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.

Match

Junior see off Aguilas Doradas

Three points for Junior, 2‑0 the final word against Aguilas Doradas in a contest settled by the finer margins.

Market

Diego Hurtado steps up from the Junior academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Diego Hurtado has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.

Market

Junior promote Hugo Bacca from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Hugo Bacca has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.

In brief

1 Edition

The Junior Chronicle

3 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Albacete come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and Junior did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

Market

Mauro Silveira wants European nights

The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.

Squad

Luis Muriel signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Luis Muriel and Junior agree another 2 years.

Squad

A falling-out at Junior

Jean Carlos Pestaña and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Match

6 goals as Junior and America de Cali go for it

Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Junior and America de Cali, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.

Squad

Luis Muriel falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Player ratings

Ninety minutes of Jesús Rivas at his very best

Marked 8.27. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Junior.

Player ratings

Déiber Caicedo was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 17. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

Match

Honours even between Junior and America de Cali

3‑3, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.

In brief