Successful dribbles: 25. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
José Movillo and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Marked 4.46. Nothing he attempted worked and by the hour mark he had stopped attempting much, which is the part a manager notices rather than the mistakes.
In brief
The dugoutSomebody else is better right now than Diego Soto
David Fernández 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.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Words at O'Higgins training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Felipe Faúndez is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at O'Higgins pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
“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 dugout9 Aug 2027
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.” Rodrigo Montecinos chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Nicolás Garrido has his answer from O'Higgins; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
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.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Hasaacas have kept their man, and O'Higgins go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Dealt with internally, which is the phrase a club uses when it would rather nobody asked twice. He will be fined, he will apologise, and he will play on Saturday.
Two goals and a mark of 8.95 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
There were 89 minutes on the clock and Cobresal had all but banked the point. Football rarely reads the room, and O'Higgins did not stop to explain themselves.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 3 arrived, 2 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at O'Higgins this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
He is 20 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Some goals win a match and some take one off somebody else. David Fernández scored in the 87th minute, San Luis had already begun thinking about the journey home, and O'Higgins took the lot.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at AC Milan is saying, and nobody at O'Higgins is enjoying the guessing.
Martín Sarrafiore 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.
He is 21 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
David Fernández 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.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Words at O'Higgins training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Igor Lichnovsky 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.
O'Higgins asked and Valladolid said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
200 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around O'Higgins people have started saying his name in the past tense.
The deal with Union Berlin is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
O'Higgins asked and Huachipato said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Words at O'Higgins training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Igor Lichnovsky 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.
Successful dribbles: 31. 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 clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Club Brugge keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at O'Higgins this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Aston Villa have kept their man, and O'Higgins go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
O'Higgins had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Juventus, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
David Fernández was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Igor Lichnovsky was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Rapid Wien have kept their man, and O'Higgins go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Ignacio Schor. 2‑0 against Palestino, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
There comes a point where a club either backs its own ambition or admits it does not have any. O'Higgins have paid $2.2M for Kevin Méndez, which is the loudest way there is of saying which one it chose.
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.81 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between O'Higgins and Iquique, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
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.
Martín Sarrafiore and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Audax Italiano have kept their man, and O'Higgins go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The deal with Union La Calera is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. David Fernández did not need any: 7.63, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what O'Higgins can pretend not to have heard.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Union Espanola have kept their man, and O'Higgins go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
David Fernández and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Alan Robledo 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.
O'Higgins have made the call to Audax Italiano. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
In brief
SquadA place in the month's best eleven for Ignacio Schor
Words at O'Higgins training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Igor Lichnovsky is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at O'Higgins this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A point taken on 88 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.
A 1‑1 draw with Union La Calera leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The dugout31 May 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Rodrigo Montecinos was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the O'Higgins dressing room was either.
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.
Position 4, 26 points, and a run-in that decides whether next season has Thursday nights in it. Nobody is calling it a race yet, which is what people say during one.
David Fernández was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Position 4, 25 points, and every result so far reduced to one line. The second half of the season starts with the same squad and a different set of expectations.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
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.
David Fernández and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alan Robledo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings17 May 2027
Diego González was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.14. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nicolás Garrido, and the manager let it.
The dugout17 May 2027
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Rodrigo Montecinos, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Luis Pavez Muñoz’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and O'Higgins needing him to play as if none of it matters.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Omar Carabalí signs something — a contract at O'Higgins or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
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 oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Rodrigo Godoy and O'Higgins agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout10 May 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑2 defeat, delivered by Rodrigo Montecinos to a room that had heard them before.
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.
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. O'Higgins have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
In brief
The dugoutGonzalo Mall dropped after a run of poor form
Position 3, 21 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.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. David Fernández did not need any: 7.85, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at O'Higgins this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 May 2027
Words at O'Higgins training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Igor Lichnovsky is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. David Fernández has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Successful dribbles: 33. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
A season average of 6.60 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. O'Higgins know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.12 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
6 matches without a win, and then this, against San Marcos de Arica. Relief is a strange noise in a football ground and it was the only noise at the end.
Martín Sarrafiore 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Miguel Brizuela. 1‑0 against San Marcos de Arica, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
A performance of 8.39 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Alan Robledo 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.
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
David Fernández 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.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Words at O'Higgins training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Igor Lichnovsky 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.
Successful dribbles: 20. 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.
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. O'Higgins will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Rodrigo Montecinos chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Igor Lichnovsky was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at O'Higgins this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Rodrigo Montecinos after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
Somebody else is better right now than Gonzalo Mall
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
16 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. O'Higgins lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Santiago Toloza 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.
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at O'Higgins can tell you which week it ends in.
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Alan Robledo 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 words a physio says slowly. 23 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.
Successful dribbles: 27. 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.
David Fernández 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.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Words at O'Higgins training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Igor Lichnovsky 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 supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Something was said to Nicolás Garrido and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
30 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. O'Higgins lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Successful dribbles: 29. 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.
7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about O'Higgins and Union La Calera in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
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.
Martín Sarrafiore 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.
37 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. O'Higgins lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Santiago Toloza provided it, and the 8.30 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at O'Higgins this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Sebastián Dátolo is living that version at O'Higgins, and it tends to show in the first month.
A 2‑1 win over Santiago Wanderers, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
At 20 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Alan Robledo 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.
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Rodrigo Montecinos, on a 2‑1 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
In brief
The dugoutJoaquín Muñoz asks for a word with the manager
The dugoutSomebody else is better right now than Gonzalo Mall
45 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. O'Higgins lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Igor Lichnovsky was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Behind, and beaten by any honest reading, until minute 94. Palestino had the points in their pocket and a corner of the ground still believed, which is generally when it happens.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Rodrigo Montecinos after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
In brief
The dugoutLeandro Díaz knocks on the manager's door
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. David Fernández did not need any: 7.71, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
David Fernández and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
6 goals in one match, David Fernández on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of O'Higgins and Iquique.
Successful dribbles: 21. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
He is 21 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
In brief
Player ratingsNinety minutes of Arnaldo Castillo at his very best
David Fernández was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
A 1‑0 win over Antofagasta, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Words at O'Higgins training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alan Robledo 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.
7.89, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. O'Higgins had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Rodrigo Montecinos, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Martín Sarrafiore provided it, and the 7.91 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Santiago Toloza 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.
Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.
It finished 3‑2, and it was Martín Sarrafiore’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to O'Higgins.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Words at O'Higgins training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Igor Lichnovsky is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
He is 20 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Nicolas Riquelme has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Claudio Montecinos 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Igor Lichnovsky was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. O'Higgins will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
David Fernández 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.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Alan Robledo falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Omar Carabalí signs something — a contract at O'Higgins or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason O'Higgins will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
David Fernández was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at O'Higgins. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. O'Higgins will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Igor Lichnovsky was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at O'Higgins this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The phone has started ringing about Esteban Calderón again, and this time the name on the line is Ruch. O'Higgins are listening politely and promising nothing.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Nicolás Garrido has his answer from O'Higgins; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Nicolás Garrido trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
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 Alan Robledo has written the date down.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 37 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Racing Genk have kept their man, and O'Higgins go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alan Robledo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
48 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 46 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Alianza Petrolera had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
A deal that was a phone call from completion at lunchtime was dead by midnight. O'Higgins will try again when the window opens; San Luis may not be selling by then.
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. O'Higgins will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Universidad Catolica have kept their man, and O'Higgins go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
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.
Martín Sarrafiore 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason O'Higgins will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what O'Higgins can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at O'Higgins is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Walter Bou was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Igor Lichnovsky was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Add another name to the list: Alianza Petrolera have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Esteban Calderón. The answer from O'Higgins has not changed — yet.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at O'Higgins. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
O'Higgins asked and River Plate said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
There comes a point where a club either backs its own ambition or admits it does not have any. O'Higgins have paid $2.3M for Diego González, which is the loudest way there is of saying which one it chose.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at O'Higgins this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Add another name to the list: San Luis have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Nicolás Matamoros. The answer from O'Higgins has not changed — yet.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words at O'Higgins training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alan Robledo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. O'Higgins will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
O'Higgins have made the call to Racing Genk. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The offer went to San Luis this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Santiago Wanderers paid $510.0K and O'Higgins took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until David Fernández signs something — a contract at O'Higgins or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Joaquín Tapia has agreed terms with Antofagasta for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Walter Bou 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around O'Higgins they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
The words a physio says slowly. 16 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Joaquín Escobar will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around O'Higgins the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Walter Bou 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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words at O'Higgins training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alan Robledo 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Sebastián Jaime trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The words a physio says slowly. 24 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. O'Higgins will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at O'Higgins this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at O'Higgins, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The words a physio says slowly. 34 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason O'Higgins will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The words a physio says slowly. 42 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 36 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Walter Bou 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.
50 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. O'Higgins lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. O'Higgins will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around O'Higgins they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Walter Bou was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Igor Lichnovsky was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The words a physio says slowly. 59 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. O'Higgins will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at O'Higgins this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Igor Lichnovsky was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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 Alan Robledo has written the date down.
67 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. O'Higgins lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 63 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
At 24 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
77 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. O'Higgins lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 70 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Walter Bou 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.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Words at O'Higgins training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Igor Lichnovsky is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at O'Higgins, and both men came out saying it was fine.
84 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. O'Higgins lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason O'Higgins will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Joaquín Escobar will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around O'Higgins the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Walter Bou was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at O'Higgins, and both men came out saying it was fine.
91 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. O'Higgins lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason O'Higgins will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at O'Higgins this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether O'Higgins can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Words at O'Higgins training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alan Robledo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at O'Higgins. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
98 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. O'Higgins lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason O'Higgins will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Walter Bou and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words at O'Higgins training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Igor Lichnovsky is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
The words a physio says slowly. 105 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 100 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Walter Bou and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
113 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. O'Higgins lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason O'Higgins will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Joaquín Escobar will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around O'Higgins the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Walter Bou was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“Nobody 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 Sep 2026
Words at O'Higgins training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alan Robledo 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 dugout7 Sep 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑2 defeat, delivered by Rodrigo Montecinos to a room that had heard them before.
121 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. O'Higgins lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. O'Higgins will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Ninety minutes of very little, and then everything at once. The winner arrived in the 87th, and Universidad de Chile spent what remained of the match appealing to the referee rather than chasing the ball.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at O'Higgins this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
He is 20 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
5 matches without a win, and then this, against Universidad de Chile. Relief is a strange noise in a football ground and it was the only noise at the end.
The words a physio says slowly. 129 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 122 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The offer from Hapoel Raanana for Esteban Calderón 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Igor Lichnovsky was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
136 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. O'Higgins lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 9 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Union La Calera go through and O'Higgins go home, 1‑5 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
It finished 1-5. A cup exit is a disappointment; this was a public dismantling, and the difference between the two is the number of people who will still be talking about it in August.
Walter Bou and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about O'Higgins and Union La Calera in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Santiago Toloza has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Oleksandriya had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at O'Higgins is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Joaquín Escobar has agreed terms with San Luis for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at O'Higgins this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Marcelo Jara has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Diego Maripan 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.
Walter Bou 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.
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether O'Higgins can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words at O'Higgins training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. David Fernández 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 name of Esteban Calderón has come up in conversations O'Higgins were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
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.