37 days with the chair empty, a list of names that grows and shrinks by the day, and not one signature on anything. Every week that passes takes the best candidates off it.
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.
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.
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.
The shirt still fits. Andrés Álvarez is back at Lanús, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
A 2-1 win over Defensa y Justicia, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Lanús, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Lanús, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Lanús can pretend not to have heard.
9 days with the chair empty, a list of names that grows and shrinks by the day, and not one signature on anything. Every week that passes takes the best candidates off it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Lanús, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Four paragraphs on the club website, none of them about football. The board thanked him, wished him well, and had the search under way before the page went up.
“Somebody has to pick the team on Saturday, and this week that is me.” An interim appointment with no promises attached, which is how most of them start.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Lanús have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The award is a small thing with a heavy meaning: for four weeks nobody in this division did his job better. Lanús have the trophy on a shelf and the player in the side.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Lanús, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The fee is $1.2M, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Chacarita Juniors drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Lanús is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Lanús have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Lanús can pretend not to have heard.
The speculation has reached the stands, and the stands have answered. Lanús would like this settled before it becomes the only thing anybody asks about.
The fee is $1.4M, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. San Telmo drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
A new face in his position, and Raúl Loaiza suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Lanús have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
The language is arriving, the jokes are landing, and there is somebody at the next peg to talk to. None of it appears in a scouting report and all of it shows up on the pitch.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Lanús is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Lanús can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Lanús they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Lanús, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Lanús have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Lanús they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Lanús can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Lanús can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Lanús is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Lanús, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I will know when it is time. I am not there yet.” Walter Bou is 34, with 253 appearances behind him, and Lanús will have to plan for whichever answer comes.
A new face in his position, and Eduardo Salvio suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Lanús have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Lanús can pretend not to have heard.
“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 Lanús hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
“I will know when it is time. I am not there yet.” Ramiro Carrera is 34, with 128 appearances behind him, and Lanús will have to plan for whichever answer comes.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Lanús they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Lanús, and both men came out saying it was fine.
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Lanús they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Lanús can pretend not to have heard.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Lanús can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Lanús have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Lanús they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“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 Lanús, and 4 appearances in 40 say he has earned the hearing.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Lanús they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
A 1-0 win over Almirante Brown, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
“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 Lanús, and 6 appearances in 31 say he has earned the hearing.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Lanús can pretend not to have heard.
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Lanús can pretend not to have heard.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Lanús, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Lanús they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“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 Lanús, and 4 appearances in 36 say he has earned the hearing.
The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Agustín Cardozo plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Lanús they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Lanús have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“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 Lanús, and 6 appearances in 27 say he has earned the hearing.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Lanús can pretend not to have heard.
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.
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Lanús have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Lanús can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Lanús have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Lanús is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Ronaldo De Jesús reports back to Lanús with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Lanús have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Lanús is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Lanús is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Lanús can pretend not to have heard.
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.
The fee is $120.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Newell's Old Boys drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
“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 Lanús, and 6 appearances in 22 say he has earned the hearing.
The fee is $4.7M, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Bloemfontein Celtic drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Lanús, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Lanús can pretend not to have heard.
The name of Juan Ibarrola has come up in conversations Lanús were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Lanús can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Lanús have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“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 Lanús, and 4 appearances in 27 say he has earned the hearing.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Lanús they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“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 Lanús, and 6 appearances in 18 say he has earned the hearing.
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
The name of Sebastián Gonzalez has come up in conversations Lanús were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Lanús, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Lanús can pretend not to have heard.
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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Lanús have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Lanús know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
A 1-0 win over Central Córdoba SdE, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Marcelino Moreno has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Lanús can pretend not to have heard.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Lanús, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Lanús can pretend not to have heard.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Lanús know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Every debut is a small story about the future: Facundo Sanchez, 21 years old, off the academy pitches and into the first team. The parents in the stand will keep the programme.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Lanús can pretend not to have heard.
A new face in his position, and Walter Bou suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Lanús have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
Shifted about, taken off before the hour, asked to do somebody else's running — Eduardo Salvio has had enough of being useful and would like to be picked. Lanús know, and have known for weeks.
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Ronaldo De Jesús may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Lanús, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Felipe Peña Biafore has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Lanús can pretend not to have heard.
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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Lanús have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Lanús can pretend not to have heard.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Lanús, and both men came out saying it was fine.
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Lanús have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Lanús can pretend not to have heard.
The shirt still fits. Ezequiel Ibáñez is back at Lanús, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
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.
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
A new face in his position, and Nahuel Losada suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Lanús have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Lanús, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Lanús can pretend not to have heard.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Lanús, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Lanús have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Lanús, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Lanús can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Lanús they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Lanús, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The name of Jeremías Chavero has come up in conversations Lanús were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Lanús can pretend not to have heard.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Lanús, and both men came out saying it was fine.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Lanús pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Lanús, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Lanús can pretend not to have heard.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Lanús pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Lanús, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Lanús can pretend not to have heard.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Lanús, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Asked to play a role that is not his, or taken off before the hour once too often — Carlos Izquierdoz has let it be known that he does not like the way Lanús are using him. Managers hear this long before the press does.
In brief
The terracesThe press cannot get enough of Yoshan Valois
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Lanús can pretend not to have heard.
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Lanús can pretend not to have heard.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Franco Petroli will call it something else in private.
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.
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Lanús can pretend not to have heard.
A 1-0 win over Defensa y Justicia, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
The award is a small thing with a heavy meaning: for four weeks nobody in this division did his job better. Lanús have the trophy on a shelf and the player in the side.
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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Lanús, and both men came out saying it was fine.
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
Every debut is a small story about the future: Thiago Laplace, 20 years old, off the academy pitches and into the first team. The parents in the stand will keep the programme.
The name of Yoshan Valois has come up in conversations Lanús were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Lanús, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Lanús can pretend not to have heard.
24 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Lanús, and both men came out saying it was fine.