“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Progreso, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I will know when it is time. I am not there yet.” Adrián Colombino is 34, with 22 appearances behind him, and Progreso will have to plan for whichever answer comes.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Progreso, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Jonathan dos Santos has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
He came through the session, took part in everything and finished it smiling. Progreso will not rush him, and he will spend the next fortnight trying to rush them.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Progreso, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Progreso, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Progreso have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Progreso, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Ayrton Cougo has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Progreso have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Progreso, and 4 appearances in 13 say he has earned the hearing.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Jonathan dos Santos will call it something else in private.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Progreso, and both men came out saying it was fine.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Ayrton Cougo will call it something else in private.
The name of Matteo Copelotti has come up in conversations Progreso were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Jonathan dos Santos keeps the shirt for now, at Progreso's convenience rather than his own.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Progreso, and both men came out saying it was fine.
A new face in his position, and Agustín Paz suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Progreso have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
The best deals are the ones the accountants never notice. Matěj Polidar arrives at Progreso with his wages the only cost and something to prove the only clause.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Progreso, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The name of Matteo Copelotti has come up in conversations Progreso were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Asked to play a role that is not his, or taken off before the hour once too often — Agustín Paz has let it be known that he does not like the way Progreso are using him. Managers hear this long before the press does.
In brief
MarketThe window shut and Adrián Colombino is still in the building
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Progreso pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Plaza Colonia pay $84.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Progreso, and both men came out saying it was fine.
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
The fee is $410.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Deportivo Maldonado drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Progreso, and both men came out saying it was fine.
In brief
The terracesThe press cannot get enough of Agustín Paz
A new face in his position, and Federico Andueza suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Progreso have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Progreso, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Progreso has been clear about where Joaquín Rivero stands, which is more than many ever get.
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Dyogo Alves knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Progreso have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Progreso have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
It is a strip of cloth and it decides nothing on a Saturday. It still tells the dressing room exactly whose opinion the manager values, which is the whole point of it.
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Andrés Mehring: 2 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
A 3-3 win over Deportivo Maldonado, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Progreso have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Progreso have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
In brief
The terracesEverybody has an opinion about Andrés Mehring
The terracesThe press cannot get enough of Diego Sánchez
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Progreso have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Jonathan dos Santos and Progreso agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Progreso, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The shirt still fits. Daniel Torres is back at Progreso, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
The shirt still fits. Franco Lopez is back at Progreso, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
The shirt still fits. Ramon Araujo is back at Progreso, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Work is signed off on a capacity of 820. It is the sort of decision a club is judged on twenty years later, by people who were not there when it was taken.
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Nicolás Fernández has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
He came through the session, took part in everything and finished it smiling. Progreso will not rush him, and he will spend the next fortnight trying to rush them.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Progreso know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Progreso, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Sebastián Cardozo plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Progreso know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Bruno Buero reports back to Progreso with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Kleyber Cuesta reports back to Progreso with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
The name of Matteo Copelotti has come up in conversations Progreso were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Qualification is secured, and next season the big floodlit nights are continental ones. For the players it is a stage; for the accounts it is a lifeline; for the supporters it is passports.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Progreso have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Progreso have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Progreso, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Agustín Paz has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Agustín Pinheiro has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Facundo de León has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Progreso have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Progreso, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Sebastián Cardozo has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Agustín Pinheiro plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.
He came through the session, took part in everything and finished it smiling. Progreso will not rush him, and he will spend the next fortnight trying to rush them.
The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Facundo de León plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.
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.
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Progreso, and both men came out saying it was fine.
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Progreso have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
A 2-0 win over Montevideo City Torque, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Progreso, and both men came out saying it was fine.
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
24 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.
49 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.