75 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Patriotas lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Patriotas have done the hard part with Deportivo Pereira, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Envigado 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 Patriotas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
100 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
82 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Patriotas lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Michael Nike 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Accrington Stanley have kept their man, and Patriotas go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Half the programme played, position 16, 17 on the board. Doubling it is the sum every supporter has done and the only one nobody at the club will do out loud.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Ángel Méndez and Patriotas agree another 1 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad2 Jun 2031
Words at Patriotas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jonnier Torres 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.
89 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Patriotas lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Michael Nike 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.
Player ratings26 May 2031
Alexis Dulón was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.09. 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.
Successful dribbles: 15. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The 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.
96 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Patriotas lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
A 3‑2 win over Deportivo Pasto, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.
The 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.
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
103 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Patriotas lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Junior go through and Patriotas go home, 0‑1 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Patriotas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 May 2031
Words at Patriotas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jonnier Torres 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.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Deportes Quindio defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
Michael Nike damages knee ligaments — 110 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 110 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.
Some goals win a match and some take one off somebody else. Kevin Álvarez scored in the 85th minute, Leones had already begun thinking about the journey home, and Patriotas took the lot.
Michael Nike 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 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.
The dugout5 May 2031
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.” Interim Coach, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
117 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Patriotas lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The terraces28 Apr 2031
The mood at Patriotas has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
0‑3 to La Equidad, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
7 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.
7 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Patriotas can tell you which week it ends in.
Michael Nike 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.
Michael Nike damages knee ligaments — 124 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 124 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.
Position 18 and 8 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
6 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
131 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Patriotas lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 11 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 5 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Patriotas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Interim Coach after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
4 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Michael Nike 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 Apr 2031
Words at Patriotas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jonnier Torres 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 Apr 2031
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Interim Coach left the room before anybody could ask which.
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.
In brief
The dugoutSomebody else is better right now than Darwin Palomeque
The mood at Patriotas has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Michael Nike 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.
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Patriotas can tell you which week it ends in.
Successful dribbles: 16. 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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Interim Coach after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
“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.
Nobody's fault and entirely his: a goal that goes into the book with his name against it and nothing about it intended. Patriotas deserved better, and so did he.
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.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Independiente Medellin in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Patriotas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Successful dribbles: 19. 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.
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Jesús Mejía wants continental football; whether Patriotas can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jonnier Torres was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody's fault and entirely his: a goal that goes into the book with his name against it and nothing about it intended. Patriotas deserved better, and so did he.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
The 85th minute, half the ground already edging towards the exits, and Alexis Dulón decided nobody was going anywhere. Atletico Bucaramanga had no time left to answer.
Michael Nike 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.
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.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Michael Nike 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.
Successful dribbles: 22. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Agustín Córdoba, and the manager let it.
The dugout3 Mar 2031
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑2 Interim Coach left the room before anybody could ask which.
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Jesús Mejía: 3 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jonnier Torres 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 Patriotas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A point taken on 94 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.
Successful dribbles: 17. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
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.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
The dugout17 Feb 2031
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.” Interim Coach chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.
Michael Nike 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 manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Juan Sebastián Sarmiento has his answer from Patriotas; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Squad10 Feb 2031
5 new faces, and Patriotas are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Michael Nike 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.
14 days with the chair empty, a list of names that grows and shrinks by the day, and not one signature on anything. Every week that passes takes the best candidates off it.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Esteven Salguero and Patriotas agree another 2 years.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Iván Camacho has his answer from Patriotas; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jonnier Torres was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
1‑4 to Santa Fe, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
The coaching staff has emptied out entirely and there was nobody internal to promote, so the club has appointed a name almost none of its supporters will recognise. Clubs recover from this; none of them enjoy explaining it.
“Somebody has to pick the team on Saturday, and this week that is me.” An interim appointment with no promises attached, which is how most of them start.
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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Patriotas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Carlos Copete has done the arithmetic and does not like the answer. Nothing corrodes a squad faster, and no club has ever solved it by explaining the wage structure to a footballer.
Patriotas offered $500.0K; Santa Fe 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.
Michael Nike 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.
Patriotas asked and Cortulua said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Patriotas can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jonnier Torres was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Sebastián Moreno signs something — a contract at Patriotas or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
MarketThe window shut and Héctor Solano is still in the building
232Edition
The Patriotas Chronicle
6 Jan 2031
From our football correspondentCrisis
The terraces6 Jan 2031
The mood at Patriotas has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Patriotas can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
The whole football department in one room on a weekday morning. Nothing was announced afterwards, which is what a board announces when it has run out of patience.
Michael Nike 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 Jonnier Torres was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Every squad has men who were signed by a particular manager and men who were merely inherited. Agustín Córdoba is in the first group, and the man who wanted him here is no longer in the building.
Patriotas had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Llaneros, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Patriotas asked and Independiente said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Patriotas have made the call to Real Sociedad. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
5 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.
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 Kevin Álvarez has written the date down.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Juan Camilo Quiñones trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Jeifer Nontoa is living that version at Patriotas, and it tends to show in the first month.
Patriotas and Santa Fe have settled on $1.1M. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
The deal with Santa Fe 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Patriotas 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.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Patriotas is running low.
The deal with Real Santander 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.
Michael Nike 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.
Leones will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Brian Barrios has pre-agreed a move to Patriotas, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
Squad16 Dec 2030
Iván Camacho 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.
Patriotas have made the call to Llaneros. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The mood at Patriotas has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Patriotas have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Everything agreed with Millonarios, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Brayan 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.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Agustín Córdoba is living that version at Patriotas, and it tends to show in the first month.
Squad9 Dec 2030
Words at Patriotas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sebastián Moreno 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 board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
Nothing has been announced and everybody understands what it means. A board that summons the whole football department on a Tuesday morning is a board that has stopped believing the problem will fix itself.
Brayan Fernández and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad2 Dec 2030
Words at Patriotas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jorge Arias 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.
A month in which every rumour is possible and most of them are nonsense. The manager has a list, the board has a number, and neither is telling the other the whole of it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Patriotas, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Patriotas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad25 Nov 2030
Words at Patriotas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Iván Camacho 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 manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Natanael Sánchez is on it.
Brayan 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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Sebastián Moreno signs something — a contract at Patriotas or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
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 Kevin Álvarez has written the date down.
In brief
The dugoutWilmar Moreno knocks on the manager's door
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Brayan 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.
Squad11 Nov 2030
Jorge Arias 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.
Nobody at Patriotas will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
In brief
The dugoutThiago Pacheco asks for a word with the manager
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Kevin Sinisterra has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Nothing has been announced and everybody understands what it means. A board that summons the whole football department on a Tuesday morning is a board that has stopped believing the problem will fix itself.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jorge Arias was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Every squad is half players the manager chose and half players he inherited. Jorge Arias was chosen, the man who chose him has gone, and he starts again from nothing under the next one.
Commercial news is the news nobody sings about and everything else is paid for with. The board will call it a partnership; the accountants will call it the difference between this squad and a smaller one.
In brief
The dugoutJosé Móntes has become a man the manager trusts
14 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Patriotas lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Patriotas 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 Sebastián Moreno was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Natanael Sánchez is on it.
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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Patriotas know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
In brief
The dugoutIván Camacho asks for a word with the manager
21 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Patriotas lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Patriotas have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Patriotas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Oct 2030
Jorge Arias 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.
28 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Patriotas lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Brayan Fernández and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad14 Oct 2030
Jorge Arias 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 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.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Esteven Salguero will call it something else in private.
The words a physio says slowly. 35 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
Brayan 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 Sebastián Moreno was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Brayan 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.
Squad30 Sep 2030
Jorge Arias 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 is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Éder Chaux’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Patriotas needing him to play as if none of it matters.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Patriotas is running low.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Patriotas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad23 Sep 2030
Words at Patriotas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jorge Arias 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.
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑3 defeat, delivered by Kevin Sinisterra to a room that had heard them before.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Patriotas has been clear about where Thiago Pacheco stands, which is more than many ever get.
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Michael Nike and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad16 Sep 2030
Words at Patriotas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sebastián Moreno 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.
Leones held the lead for 4 minutes, which is not long enough to enjoy it. Patriotas answered before the celebration had properly finished, and the shape of the afternoon changed with it.
“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 Sep 2030
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Kevin Sinisterra was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Patriotas dressing room was either.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Patriotas has been clear about where Héctor Solano stands, which is more than many ever get.
Michael Nike 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 Jorge Arias was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout9 Sep 2030
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 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Kevin Sinisterra to a room that had heard them before.
Leones next, and one man in the Patriotas dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Patriotas can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Brayan 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 Jorge Arias was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Alexis Dulón. 1‑0 against Llaneros, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Patriotas is running low.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Patriotas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Aug 2030
Words at Patriotas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sebastián Moreno 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.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Kevin Sinisterra after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Nobody at Patriotas will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Patriotas. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
The words a physio says slowly. 15 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.
The terraces19 Aug 2030
The mood at Patriotas has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Patriotas have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Brayan Fernández and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad19 Aug 2030
Words at Patriotas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jorge Arias 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 is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Deportivo Cali? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
22 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Patriotas lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Brayan 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 Jorge Arias 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 91. Independiente Medellin had the points in their pocket and a corner of the ground still believed, which is generally when it happens.
“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.
29 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Patriotas lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
Brayan 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.
Marked 6.99 on 14 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
He will be fined, he will apologise, and he will play on Saturday. The order of those three tells you everything about what a football club actually values.
The words a physio says slowly. 36 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Patriotas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 Jul 2030
Jorge Arias 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.
Patriotas asked and Leones said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Patriotas ran out of time with Atletico Nacional. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.
43 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Patriotas lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The terraces22 Jul 2030
The mood at Patriotas has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Some goals win a match and some take one off somebody else. Brayan Fernández scored in the 86th minute, Real Cartagena had already begun thinking about the journey home, and Patriotas took the lot.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.40 at 38, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Boardroom22 Jul 2030
Deadline passes with 0 signed and 3 gone
That is the business done at Patriotas until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
The deal with Atletico Nacional 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.
50 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Patriotas lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Transfer targets15 Jul 2030
$890.0K settles it between the clubs for Samuel Martín
Millonarios have accepted the money. What Patriotas do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Santa Fe have kept their man, and Patriotas go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Brayan 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 Sebastián Moreno was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
100 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
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.
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
Brayan 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Deportivo Cali have kept their man, and Patriotas go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Esteven Salguero and Patriotas agree another 2 years.
Successful dribbles: 17. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Signed today, seen by nobody for years, and one of them may one day be the reason the club exists. That is the whole of the argument for an academy, and it is a good one.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager's exit leaves Jorge Arias exposed
66 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Patriotas lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match29 Jun 2030
Jonnier Torres wins it after the whistle should have gone
92 minutes played. Jonnier Torres found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and Aguilas Doradas went from a point to nothing inside one movement.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Patriotas is running low.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Patriotas can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Patriotas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Jul 2030
Words at Patriotas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jorge Arias 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 mood at Patriotas has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
73 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Patriotas lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Atletico Nacional have accepted the money. What Patriotas do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Carrarese keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Patriotas asked and Cortulua said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
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.
80 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Patriotas lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Position 18 and 14 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Santa Fe have kept their man, and Patriotas go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Patriotas have gone to Jaguares 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.
Brayan 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 Jorge Arias was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
87 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Patriotas lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
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.
4 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Patriotas asked and Millonarios said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Michael Nike was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad10 Jun 2030
Jorge Arias 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.
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout10 Jun 2030
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 0‑2 defeat, delivered by Kevin Sinisterra to a room that had heard them before.
94 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Patriotas lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Patriotas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Jun 2030
Words at Patriotas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sebastián Moreno 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 chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Cortulua have kept their man, and Patriotas go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jorge Arias was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Kevin Sinisterra after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Successful dribbles: 13. 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 at Patriotas is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Deportes Tolima? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
Millonarios next, and one man in the Patriotas dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Brayan 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 Jorge Arias was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Kevin Sinisterra after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
13 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Deportivo Pasto? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
Brayan 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.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Patriotas and Atletico Bucaramanga in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sebastián Moreno was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
12 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Leones were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.83 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Patriotas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Successful dribbles: 22. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Squad6 May 2030
Jorge Arias 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.
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.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Kevin Sinisterra on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jorge Arias was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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.
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.
Michael Nike 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.
The dugout22 Apr 2030
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Kevin Sinisterra was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Patriotas dressing room was either.
Something was said to Juan Camilo Quiñones and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Llaneros? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.19 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Michael Nike 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.
Squad15 Apr 2030
Jorge Arias 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.
Minute 91, against America de Cali, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
9 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Patriotas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
4 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Patriotas can tell you which week it ends in.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jorge Arias was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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.
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Patriotas can tell you which week it ends in.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Ángel Méndez and Patriotas agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad1 Apr 2030
Iván Camacho 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 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.
0‑3 against Atletico Nacional, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
7 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.
Brayan 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.
Squad25 Mar 2030
Words at Patriotas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sebastián Moreno 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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Kevin Sinisterra after 0‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
In brief
Player ratingsAlexis Dulón beats them one at a time
The dugoutSomebody else is better right now than Ángel Méndez
Brayan 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.
Squad18 Mar 2030
Jorge Arias 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 is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Envigado defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Patriotas know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Héctor Solano is on it.
Nobody at Patriotas is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Patriotas 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 Sebastián Moreno was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
11 combined actions and 6.95. The job he did is the one that shows up as other people looking good, and the only reliable way to notice it is to watch what happens on the afternoons he is missing.
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
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.
Successful dribbles: 17. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
1 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.
Michael Nike 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.
Squad25 Feb 2030
Words at Patriotas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jorge Arias 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 board was up, the win was priced in, and then La Equidad scored. There is no worse minute to concede in and the ground emptied in the silence that follows one.
Brayan 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.
Squad18 Feb 2030
Words at Patriotas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sebastián Moreno 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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Kevin Sinisterra after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Patriotas have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Brayan Fernández’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Patriotas needing him to play as if none of it matters.
15 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Patriotas lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jorge Arias was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
10 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.
22 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Patriotas lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The terraces4 Feb 2030
The mood at Patriotas has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Patriotas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad4 Feb 2030
Jorge Arias 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.
Minute 85, against Junior, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Patriotas has been clear about where Ángel Méndez stands, which is more than many ever get.
The dugout4 Feb 2030
The manager has not finished forgetting Alexis Dulón's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
29 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Patriotas lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
0‑6 to Santa Fe, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Brayan 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 chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Match26 Jan 2030
Nobody could stop scoring
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Patriotas and Santa Fe in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sebastián Moreno was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
36 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Patriotas lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Brayan 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.
9 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Squad21 Jan 2030
Jorge Arias 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Freddy Sanchez is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Freddy Gonzalez is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Carlos Duque 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.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Francisco Cardona 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.
A deal that was a phone call from completion at lunchtime was dead by midnight. Patriotas will try again when the window opens; Junior may not be selling by then.
43 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Patriotas lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Independiente Medellin keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Brayan Fernández and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad14 Jan 2030
Jorge Arias 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.
Patriotas ran out of time with Millonarios. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Michael Nike signs something — a contract at Patriotas or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The words a physio says slowly. 50 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.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Patriotas will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The official line will be that it was routine. It was not routine, the timing says so, and every person in that room knows what the next bad result costs.
Patriotas and Junior have settled on $45.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
The offer went to Millonarios 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Patriotas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
58 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Patriotas lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Patriotas will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Patriotas have done the hard part with Deportivo Cali, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Patriotas had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at America de Cali, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Brayan 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Deportivo Pereira have kept their man, and Patriotas 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 Jorge Arias was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The name of Juan Sebastián Sarmiento has come up in conversations Patriotas were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
In brief
The dugoutÁngel Méndez knocks on the manager’s door
65 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Patriotas lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 29 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The clubs have shaken hands with Independiente Medellin; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Patriotas have done the hard part with Junior, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
$1.0M was the most the club would pay and Deportivo Cali 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.
Brayan 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.
Squad24 Dec 2029
Jorge Arias 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.
72 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Patriotas lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Patriotas is running low.
Brayan Fernández and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad17 Dec 2029
Words at Patriotas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sebastián Moreno 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Patriotas know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The mood at Patriotas has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
79 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Patriotas lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Transfer targets10 Dec 2029
$1.0M settles it between the clubs for Mateo García
Deportivo Cali have accepted the money. What Patriotas do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
$310.0K on the table at Millonarios. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Patriotas 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 Jorge Arias was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
86 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Patriotas lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Patriotas can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
The whole football department in one room on a weekday morning. Nothing was announced afterwards, which is what a board announces when it has run out of patience.
Brayan 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.
Squad3 Dec 2029
Jorge Arias 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.
A loan enquiry to America de Cali: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The words a physio says slowly. 93 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.
Brayan 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.
Squad26 Nov 2029
Words at Patriotas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jorge Arias 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 has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Klisman Cabrera signs something — a contract at Patriotas or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The words a physio says slowly. 102 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jorge Arias was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Patriotas, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Patriotas know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
109 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Patriotas lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Patriotas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Nov 2029
Jorge Arias 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 manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Jean Paul Angulo has his answer from Patriotas; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say José Móntes is on it.
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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Patriotas, and both men came out saying it was fine.
116 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Patriotas lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Patriotas can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Nothing has been announced and everybody understands what it means. A board that summons the whole football department on a Tuesday morning is a board that has stopped believing the problem will fix itself.
Brayan 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 Jorge Arias was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Jorge Arias has his answer from Patriotas; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Patriotas, and both men came out saying it was fine.
123 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Patriotas lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Brayan 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 Jorge Arias was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The words a physio says slowly. 130 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jorge Arias was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Patriotas know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
In brief
The dugoutFalkner Bermeo has become a man the manager trusts
The dugoutIván Camacho asks for a word with the manager
The mood at Patriotas has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Patriotas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 20 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jorge Arias was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Patriotas would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Patriotas, and both men came out saying it was fine.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Patriotas can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Position 17 on 29 points. Every season is a story and this is the last line of it, and now the club has three months to decide what the next one is about.
Nothing has been announced and everybody understands what it means. A board that summons the whole football department on a Tuesday morning is a board that has stopped believing the problem will fix itself.
Brayan 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 Jorge Arias was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Brayan 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 Oct 2029
Jorge Arias 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.
Every squad has men who were signed by a particular manager and men who were merely inherited. Jorge Arias is in the first group, and the man who wanted him here is no longer in the building.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Kevin Álvarez trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout1 Oct 2029
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Kevin Sinisterra was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Patriotas dressing room was either.
The team at the top of the table next, and the honest measure of where this side actually is. Anybody can beat the club below them; the question is what happens against Santa Fe.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Patriotas is running low.
Brayan Fernández and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad24 Sep 2029
Words at Patriotas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sebastián Moreno 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.
Deportes Tolima left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout24 Sep 2029
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 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Kevin Sinisterra to a room that had heard them before.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Jorge Arias’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Patriotas needing him to play as if none of it matters.
The mood at Patriotas has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Patriotas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad17 Sep 2029
Jorge Arias 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 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.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Deportes Tolima in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
Successful dribbles: 24. 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.
Brayan 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 Jorge Arias was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A point taken on 89 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. Patriotas will quote 16 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Esteven Salguero.
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
The dugout10 Sep 2029
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.” Kevin Sinisterra chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Rafael Tapia
The dugoutIván Camacho dropped after a run of poor form
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Kevin Sinisterra has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Brayan 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.
Squad3 Sep 2029
Jorge Arias 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.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Atletico Bucaramanga in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
Brayan Fernández and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad27 Aug 2029
Words at Patriotas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jorge Arias 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.
0‑1 to La Equidad, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout27 Aug 2029
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Kevin Sinisterra left the room before anybody could ask which.
The dugout27 Aug 2029
Somebody else is better right now than Héctor Solano
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.
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.
Deportivo Pereira next, and one man in the Patriotas dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Patriotas know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The mood at Patriotas has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Patriotas 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 Jorge Arias was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
The dugout20 Aug 2029
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Kevin Sinisterra was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Patriotas dressing room was either.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Jaguares? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
A brace, and Alexis Dulón takes the afternoon — 8.76
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Alexis Dulón provided it, and the 8.76 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
8 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Junior were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
Michael Nike 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.
Squad13 Aug 2029
Words at Patriotas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jorge Arias 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.
Marked 8.06 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 3‑1, Kevin Sinisterra could afford to be generous.
In brief
The dugoutKevin Álvarez asks for a word with the manager
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Patriotas can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
8 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.
Brayan 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.
Squad6 Aug 2029
Words at Patriotas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jorge Arias 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.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Héctor Solano will call it something else in private.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
A change in the dugout is not one story, it is twenty-five of them. This is Jorge Arias's: he was somebody's player, and now he has to be somebody else's, starting from nothing.
7 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, and a scan that said otherwise. He goes back to Envigado; Patriotas go back to the market; and both will insist there is no story here.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jorge Arias was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
The dugout30 Jul 2029
Somebody else is better right now than Héctor Solano
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.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Patriotas will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Envigado have accepted the money. What Patriotas do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
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.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 0 arrived, 7 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 Patriotas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Patriotas will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
America de Cali have accepted the money. What Patriotas do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Brayan 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 Jorge Arias was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.