It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Plaza Colonia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Alex Bruno 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 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 Michael López is on it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Diego Villalba trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Plaza Colonia, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Plaza Colonia 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.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Maximiliano Noble, and the manager let it.
Squad25 Jan 2027
11 new faces, and Plaza Colonia 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.
Alex Bruno 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 Jan 2027
Words at Plaza Colonia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nicolás González 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 manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Facundo Píriz has his answer from Plaza Colonia; 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 Lucas Carrizo is on 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 Plaza Colonia, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Plaza Colonia know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at Plaza Colonia that is a harder question to answer.
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 Carlos Núñez has written the date down.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Cristian Ibáñez has just signed for Plaza Colonia, and for once the answer mattered.
Lucas Carrizo 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.
$42.0K was the most the club would pay and Cerro Largo 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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Words at Plaza Colonia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alex Bruno is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Plaza Colonia are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
Nobody at Plaza Colonia 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Plaza Colonia, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Plaza Colonia, and it is not being withdrawn.
The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $45.5K — a club that wants Ihojan Pérez enough to be asked twice.
Haibrany Ruiz Díaz 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.
$84.0K on the table at Atenas. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Plaza Colonia have gone to Cerro Largo 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.
Plaza Colonia offered $13.0K; Cerrito 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.
Boards get told what they have done wrong for years and hear nothing on the days they get it right. This is one of those days: Guido Sosa from Atenas for $1.1M, and a ticket office having a very good morning.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Words at Plaza Colonia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nicolás González 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.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Plaza Colonia, and it is not being withdrawn.
The deal with Atenas is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
The fee is $300.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Cerrito drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
$13.0K on the table at Cerrito. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Emiliano Gil is living that version at Plaza Colonia, and it tends to show in the first month.
Boards get told what they have done wrong for years and hear nothing on the days they get it right. This is one of those days: Franco Casuriaga from Cerrito for $300.0K, and a ticket office having a very good morning.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Penarol have kept their man, and Plaza Colonia 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 Pablo García was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
In brief
SquadPlaza Colonia are still strangers to each other
The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Tomás Escalante was one of the reasons people came, and $7.2M does not replace that by itself.
The deal with San Lorenzo 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.
Lucas Carrizo 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.
Plaza Colonia offered $51.0K; Progreso 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.
Gonzalo Gómez was the name on every phone-in, and the club has gone and signed him for $440.0K. For one week the board can do no wrong, which is a week most boards never get.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Matías Malvino and Plaza Colonia agree another 1 years.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Fluminense have kept their man, and Plaza Colonia go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
In brief
SquadRodrigo Marín falls out with a teammate over standards
Progreso ended it 0‑1. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.
Transfer targets14 Dec 2026
$440.0K settles it between the clubs for Gonzalo Gómez
Juventud have accepted the money. What Plaza Colonia do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Segundo Pachamé was one of the reasons people came, and $1.6M does not replace that by itself.
The offer from Uruguay Montevideo for Kevin Morgan was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $513.0K — a club that wants Gonzalo Gómez enough to be asked twice.
Plaza Colonia offered $410.0K; Danubio 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.
Montevideo City Torque will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Tomás Shaw has pre-agreed a move to Plaza Colonia, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $460.7K — a club that wants Nicolás Azambuja enough to be asked twice.
Plaza Colonia have gone to Danubio 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.
Plaza Colonia offered $61.0K; Juventud 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.
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 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Plaza Colonia, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Plaza Colonia have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Plaza Colonia 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 Santiago Otegui was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Plaza Colonia 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.
Lucas Carrizo 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.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Facundo Kidd, and the manager let it.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Words at Plaza Colonia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Máximo Lorenzi 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.
Nobody at Plaza Colonia 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Plaza Colonia can pretend not to have heard.
Lucas Carrizo 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 Segundo Pachamé was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Facundo Kidd trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Plaza Colonia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
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.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Plaza Colonia will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
The dugoutThe manager plants his flag on Pablo Adorno
SquadTomás Escalante is training like a man with a point to make
14Edition
The Plaza Colonia Chronicle
2 Nov 2026
From our football correspondentUpbeat
Squad2 Nov 2026
Words at Plaza Colonia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Máximo Lorenzi 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 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.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Plaza Colonia. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Plaza Colonia have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
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 said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Matías Velázquez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
In brief
The dugoutMichael Covea knocks on the manager's door
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 Plaza Colonia 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 Plaza Colonia. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Plaza Colonia can pretend not to have heard.
8.13. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Plaza Colonia can pretend not to have heard.
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.
Lucas Carrizo and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Nobody at Plaza Colonia will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The 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 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 Facundo Píriz has written the date down.
Lucas Carrizo 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.
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 Matías Velázquez is on it.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Plaza Colonia, and both men came out saying it was fine.
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 Facundo Píriz has written the date down.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Tomás Escalante scored, was marked 7.91, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Penarol made Plaza Colonia work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at Plaza Colonia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Máximo Lorenzi 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.
11 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
A 2‑1 win over Central Espanol, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
He is 23 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Carlos Núñez 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 Aug 2026
Words at Plaza Colonia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Máximo Lorenzi 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 7.84. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
The dugout24 Aug 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑3 defeat, delivered by Facundo Varela to a room that had heard them before.
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Joaquín Silva: 2 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Joaquín García, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 7.95
A mark of 7.95 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Plaza Colonia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 19 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Level with 89 minutes on the clock, after an afternoon Plaza Colonia had all but put away. Miramar Misiones will call it a point earned; the home dressing room will call it two given away, and both of them are right.
In brief
Player ratingsMiqueas Redín misses from twelve yards
Lucas Carrizo 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Federico Rossi is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Santiago Jimenez has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Marcelo Ugarte has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Jonathan Perez 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.
11 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
The dugout10 Aug 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Facundo Varela to a room that had heard them before.
15 seasons and 308 appearances, all of them here. Careers like this are not designed; they happen to a certain kind of man at a certain kind of club, and this town has one.
The phone has started ringing about Michael López again, and this time the name on the line is Probiy. Plaza Colonia are listening politely and promising nothing.
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Plaza Colonia can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Tomás Escalante and Plaza Colonia agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Lucas Carrizo has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Máximo Lorenzi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.