From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad8 Feb 2027
29 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Palestino lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad8 Feb 2027
41 days out for Nicolás Carvajal after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Palestino will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Julián 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.
Squad8 Feb 2027
A row about effort at Palestino
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jonathan Benítez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Market8 Feb 2027
The Joe Abrigo talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Palestino know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad1 Feb 2027
37 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Palestino lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 51 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad1 Feb 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Palestino this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Words at Palestino training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jonathan Benítez 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 dugout1 Feb 2027
The manager makes an example of Enzo Roco
“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 dugout1 Feb 2027
The manager makes Jason León a promise
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Palestino. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad25 Jan 2027
Diego Montecinos damages knee ligaments — 44 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 44 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.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 60 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Julián Fernández and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Words at Palestino training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ian Garguez 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 dugout25 Jan 2027
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad18 Jan 2027
A fracture rules Nicolás Carvajal out for 68 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Palestino will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words exchanged at Palestino
Julián 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.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words at Palestino training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jonathan Benítez 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.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Palestino are still strangers to each other
10 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.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Palestino. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Sebastián Salas trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad11 Jan 2027
A fracture rules Nicolás Carvajal out for 76 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Palestino will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad11 Jan 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Julián Fernández and Palestino agree another 2 years.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Julián 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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Words at Palestino training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jonathan Benítez 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 dugout11 Jan 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jason León, and the manager let it.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Julián Fernández trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad4 Jan 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 83 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market4 Jan 2027
Palestino say no — this time
The offer from O'Higgins for Enzo Roco 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.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
Francisco Montes: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Palestino have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market4 Jan 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Palestino, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad4 Jan 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Palestino this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad4 Jan 2027
A row about effort at Palestino
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ian Garguez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets4 Jan 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Talleres have kept their man, and Palestino go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad4 Jan 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Simón Pinto and Palestino agree another 5 years.
Transfer targets4 Jan 2027
A loan move for Santiago Torres is in the works
Palestino have made the call to Racing Club. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad28 Dec 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 91 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market28 Dec 2026
Palestino say no — this time
The offer from O'Higgins for Joe Abrigo 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.
Market28 Dec 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Transfer targets28 Dec 2026
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Palestino have done the hard part with Santos, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Transfer targets28 Dec 2026
$780.0K was the most the club would pay and Cobresal were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Words exchanged at Palestino
Bryan Carrasco 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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Words at Palestino training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jonathan Benítez 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.
Transfer targets28 Dec 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Belgrano have kept their man, and Palestino go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Transfer targets28 Dec 2026
A loan move for Felipe Pontoni is in the works
Palestino have made the call to Talleres. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad21 Dec 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 99 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Transfer targets21 Dec 2026
Palestino have gone to Cobresal 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 targets21 Dec 2026
The deal with Santiago Wanderers 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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Bryan Carrasco and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets21 Dec 2026
$15.0K was the most the club would pay and Huachipato were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
Transfer targets21 Dec 2026
Palestino asked and Colo-Colo said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words at Palestino training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jonathan Benítez 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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Too much change too quickly at Palestino
7 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 dugout21 Dec 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad14 Dec 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 106 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad14 Dec 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Palestino this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets14 Dec 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Antofagasta have kept their man, and Palestino go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Transfer targets14 Dec 2026
No deal for Iam González at that price
Palestino offered $37.0K; Universidad de Concepcion said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Words at Palestino training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ariel Martínez 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.
Squad14 Dec 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Daniel Vicencio and Palestino agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Transfer targets14 Dec 2026
A loan enquiry to O'Higgins: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Market14 Dec 2026
He is 18, and nobody at Palestino signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jason León, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad7 Dec 2026
114 days out for Nicolás Carvajal after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Palestino will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market7 Dec 2026
The bid was some way short and Palestino did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market7 Dec 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Palestino, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets7 Dec 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Santiago Wanderers have kept their man, and Palestino go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Bryan Carrasco 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.
Transfer targets7 Dec 2026
$37.0K on the table at Colo-Colo. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Transfer targets7 Dec 2026
Palestino offered $37.0K; Santiago Wanderers said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Antonio Ceza and Palestino agree another 3 years.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Jonathan Benítez 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.
In brief
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Market
Experience through the door at Palestino
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Boardroom
Open for business: Palestino enter the window
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The dugout
Enzo Roco has been promised minutes
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market30 Nov 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Palestino, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
Sebastián Salas: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Palestino have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad30 Nov 2026
18 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words exchanged at Palestino
Bryan Carrasco 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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words at Palestino training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jonathan Benítez 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 dugout30 Nov 2026
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad23 Nov 2026
Bryan Carrasco and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
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 dugout23 Nov 2026
Sebastián Salas asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad16 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Palestino this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Palestino
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jonathan Benítez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad16 Nov 2026
15 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Palestino will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market9 Nov 2026
Only the photograph left for Gonzalo Tapia
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Gonzalo Tapia will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Palestino the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Jonathan Benítez and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market9 Nov 2026
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Gonzalo Diaz is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market9 Nov 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Erick Valdes 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.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Joe Abrigo 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 dugout9 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Diego García
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market2 Nov 2026
Joao Moris 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 Palestino can pretend not to have heard.
Squad2 Nov 2026
The medical room confirms 49 days on the sidelines for Ian Alegria, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Enzo Roco 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.
Market2 Nov 2026
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Palestino, another week without a signature from Gonzalo Tapia.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
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 dugout2 Nov 2026
Gonzalo Tapia 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 Gonzalo Tapia trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad26 Oct 2026
Bryan Carrasco and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad26 Oct 2026
A row about effort at Palestino
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jonathan Benítez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Palestino are still strangers to each other
6 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout19 Oct 2026
Nelson Da Silva: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Palestino have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad19 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Palestino this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Words at Palestino training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jonathan Benítez 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market12 Oct 2026
Gonzalo Tapia has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Palestino they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad12 Oct 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ian Garguez and Palestino agree another 5 years.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Bryan Carrasco was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Sebastián Pérez has seen what the next man earns
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at Palestino that is a harder question to answer.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Palestino. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Palestino, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market5 Oct 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Palestino, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Words exchanged at Palestino
Bryan Carrasco 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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
A row about effort at Palestino
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jonathan Benítez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Francisco Montes, and the manager let it.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
The manager makes Enzo Roco a promise
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Palestino. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Sebastián Salas trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad28 Sep 2026
Jonathan Benítez 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.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Words at Palestino training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Joe Abrigo 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.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Palestino are still strangers to each other
6 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad21 Sep 2026
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 14 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words exchanged at Palestino
Jonathan Benítez 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.
Market21 Sep 2026
The Joe Abrigo talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Palestino know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
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 Francisco Montes has written the date down.
Market21 Sep 2026
Palestino have let the market know Ignacio Valenzuela can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Mateo Cienfuegos is the talk of the training ground
Sharpest man there all week, by every account. It is the quietest line on this page and it usually runs the week before somebody’s run in the side begins.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market14 Sep 2026
Only the photograph left for Gonzalo Tapia
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Gonzalo Tapia will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Palestino the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Boardroom14 Sep 2026
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words exchanged at Palestino
Enzo Roco and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Jonathan Benítez 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.
Market14 Sep 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Diego Fernandez 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.
Market14 Sep 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Pablo Mena has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
The manager makes Enzo Roco a promise
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Palestino. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Squad14 Sep 2026
“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.
Market14 Sep 2026
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Palestino, another week without a signature from Gonzalo Tapia.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match5 Sep 2026
The 87th minute, half the ground already edging towards the exits, and Federico Anselmo decided nobody was going anywhere. San Marcos de Arica had no time left to answer.
Market7 Sep 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Palestino, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words exchanged at Palestino
Bryan Carrasco 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.
Match5 Sep 2026
It had gone 6 games. The players did not celebrate like men who had won a match; they celebrated like men who had been let out of something.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at Palestino training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jonathan Benítez 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.
Match5 Sep 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Federico Anselmo. 1‑0 against San Marcos de Arica, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Joe Abrigo beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 16. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Marked 7.87 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Palestino had the best player on the pitch.
Squad7 Sep 2026
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Nelson Da Silva is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
In brief
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Squad
Ian Garguez named in the team of the month
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
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The dugout
No hiding place for Jason León
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match29 Aug 2026
The wait goes on for Palestino
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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Bryan Carrasco and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Too much change too quickly at Palestino
6 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.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 14. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Francisco Meneses was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Palestino dressing room was either.
Match29 Aug 2026
Point won or two lost for Palestino?
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Universidad de Concepcion? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Palestino, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Looking ahead31 Aug 2026
San Marcos de Arica next, and one man in the Palestino dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match22 Aug 2026
No end in sight to Palestino's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Palestino has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad24 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Palestino this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words at Palestino training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jonathan Benítez 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.
Match22 Aug 2026
1‑2 to Cobresal, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout24 Aug 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Francisco Meneses after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout24 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Francisco Montes, and the manager let it.
The terraces24 Aug 2026
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.
The dugout24 Aug 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Nelson Da Silva trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 61. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match12 Aug 2026
The cup run ends for Palestino
0‑1 against Santiago Wanderers, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
Match15 Aug 2026
4 matches without a win for Palestino
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Palestino are no longer polite ones.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Bryan Carrasco 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.
Squad17 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Palestino
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jonathan Benítez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Antonio Ceza, and the manager let it.
Match15 Aug 2026
Level with 87 minutes on the clock, after an afternoon Palestino had all but put away. San Luis will call it a point earned; the home dressing room will call it two given away, and both of them are right.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Marked 7.82 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Palestino had the best player on the pitch.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
1 error, one goal, and a night in front of the same three seconds. He will see it tonight, tomorrow and probably in February, and everybody who has played knows exactly which frame he keeps stopping on.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad10 Aug 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 8 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 30. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market10 Aug 2026
Joao Moris 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 Palestino can pretend not to have heard.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Jonathan Benítez 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.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Tomas Sierralta 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.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Luis Vargas 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.
Market10 Aug 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Carlos Castillo 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.
Match8 Aug 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout10 Aug 2026
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑1, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 26. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Sebastián Pérez commits to Palestino for another 2 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Palestino
Bryan Carrasco 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.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words at Palestino training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sebastián Pérez 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 dugout3 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Sebastián Pérez
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
A midfielder is measured on whether the team functions when he is on the pitch, which is nearly impossible to see and completely obvious in retrospect. 10 actions, 7.74, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
Market3 Aug 2026
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
Market3 Aug 2026
24 months to run and not a word offered. A club that lets the calendar negotiate for it usually ends up losing to the calendar.