A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Queretaro will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Michael Carcelén 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.
10 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Lucas Abascia 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 month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Leonardo Martínez is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
Nobody at Queretaro 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 21 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Queretaro scored in the 108th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Enzo Giménez wants continental football; whether Queretaro can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Queretaro is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Queretaro this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Successful dribbles: 20. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
He is 22 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.
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.
7.66, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
Successful dribbles: 23. 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.
Diego Reyes 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 easiest signature of my career.” Sebastián Hernández and Queretaro agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Minute 96, against Morelia, 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Queretaro will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Diego Reyes 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.
Sebastián Hernández scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Pachuca, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Words at Queretaro training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Lucas Abascia 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 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 48 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Two goals and a mark of 8.70 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Michael Carcelén was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Edison Gruezo 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.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑0, Francisco Lainez could afford to be generous.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Humberto Norman will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Queretaro the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Diego Reyes commits to Queretaro for another 2 years.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Words at Queretaro training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Michael Carcelén 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.
Lucas Abascia was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Puebla in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Queretaro will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Words at Queretaro training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Lucas Abascia 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 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.
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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 26 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Michael Carcelén scored, was marked 7.81, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Michael Carcelén was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Marked 7.90 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Queretaro had the best player on the pitch.
The dugout20 Sep 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Francisco Lainez kept it short after the 2‑1 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
The dugout20 Sep 2027
Somebody else is better right now than Lucas Abascia
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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Queretaro will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Player ratings13 Sep 2027
Edison Gruezo, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 7.81
A mark of 7.81 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Queretaro can pretend not to have heard.
The deal that would have taken Eduardo Pérez to Tijuana has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Queretaro with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
Diego Reyes and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Words at Queretaro training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Michael Carcelén 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Viking have kept their man, and Queretaro go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Francisco Lainez after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Queretaro will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Queretaro close the window on a squad of their own making
8 in and 14 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Queretaro they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Queretaro this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Humberto Norman is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Queretaro asked and Olimpia said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Lucas Abascia was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Queretaro will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Queretaro have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Player ratings30 Aug 2027
Edison Gruezo, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 7.82
A mark of 7.82 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Queretaro is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Enzo Giménez wants continental football; whether Queretaro can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Humberto Norman has agreed terms with Chiapas for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Diego Reyes 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 Aug 2027
Words at Queretaro training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Michael Carcelén 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.
Queretaro asked and Seattle Sounders said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Queretaro will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at FC Nordsjaelland is saying, and nobody at Queretaro is enjoying the guessing.
Diego Reyes 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.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Words at Queretaro training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Michael Carcelén 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.
Queretaro asked and FC Copenhagen said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
At 23 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.
FC Copenhagen have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 64 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Queretaro people have started saying his name in the past tense.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Queretaro have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Molde is saying, and nobody at Queretaro is enjoying the guessing.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Queretaro this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Tigre have kept their man, and Queretaro go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
At 28 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
In brief
SquadLucas Abascia falls out with a teammate over standards
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Queretaro will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Brondby is saying, and nobody at Queretaro is enjoying the guessing.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Words at Queretaro training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Michael Carcelén 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.
Queretaro asked and Universidad de Chile said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Inter Miami CF have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 79 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Player ratings2 Aug 2027
Edison Gruezo, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 7.85
A mark of 7.85 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Queretaro have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Queretaro they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
1 for Michael Carcelén, marked 7.73, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Queretaro have done the hard part with Molde, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Queretaro had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Vasco da Gama, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
In brief
SquadWaldo Madrid is a better footballer than he was
SquadWords at Queretaro training over how hard people work
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 87 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Player ratings26 Jul 2027
Edison Gruezo, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 7.76
A mark of 7.76 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
The deal with New England Revolution 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 clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Tigre keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Diego Reyes and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.
He is 20 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Michael Carcelén was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Rubén Arellano has left for Dorados in a $51.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Daniel Parra has improved at 28, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
Queretaro have made the call to New England Revolution. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Queretaro have done the hard part with Atletico Nacional, 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: Molde 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 Queretaro 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Brondby have kept their man, and Queretaro go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Edison Gruezo 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.
In brief
The dugoutBernardo Parra asks for a word with the manager
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Waldo Madrid will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Queretaro the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Eduardo Pérez reports back to Queretaro with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
At 23 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.
Diego Reyes 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.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Words at Queretaro training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Lucas Abascia 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 a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Queretaro can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Santiago Homenchenko is 23, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Diego Reyes and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Words at Queretaro training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Michael Carcelén 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.
At 26 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Queretaro people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Michael Carcelén was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Lucas Abascia 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 easiest signature of my career.” Alejandro Rodríguez and Queretaro agree another 3 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 Queretaro, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Queretaro people have started saying his name in the past tense.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Queretaro is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Luis Gutiérrez has agreed terms with Chiapas for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Queretaro this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Rubén Arellano is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Lucas Abascia 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.
15 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Queretaro lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Queretaro can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Queretaro they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Diego Reyes 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.
At 22 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 Paulo Victor was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The words a physio says slowly. 23 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Diego Reyes 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.
Squad31 May 2027
Words at Queretaro training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Paulo Victor 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 words a physio says slowly. 30 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.
Diego Reyes and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad24 May 2027
Words at Queretaro training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Paulo Victor 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.
“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 Queretaro will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
37 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Queretaro lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Lucas Abascia 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 Paulo Victor 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 Bernardo Parra trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
15 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Queretaro 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. 18 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Queretaro they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Queretaro this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad10 May 2027
Paulo Victor falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The words a physio says slowly. 18 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Queretaro will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Queretaro have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Diego Reyes 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 May 2027
Words at Queretaro training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Michael Carcelén 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.
31 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Queretaro 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. 34 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Enzo Giménez wants continental football; whether Queretaro can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
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.
39 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Queretaro 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. 42 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Queretaro have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Diego Reyes and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Words at Queretaro training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Paulo Victor 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. Queretaro know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 49 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Queretaro is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Diego Reyes 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.
18 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Queretaro lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Queretaro will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Diego Reyes 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.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Leonardo Morales is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Francisco Arteaga 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. Marco Jimenez 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. Juan Martin 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.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Christian Salcedo 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 words a physio says slowly. 26 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Queretaro will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Lucas Abascia was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Bayron Duarte signs something — a contract at Queretaro or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
In brief
The dugoutBernardo Parra asks for a word with the manager
33 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Queretaro lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Michael Carcelén was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Bless Ege 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Paulo Victor trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Queretaro know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“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 Queretaro will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
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.
41 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Queretaro lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Waldo Madrid will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Queretaro the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Words at Queretaro training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Michael Carcelén 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.
At 23 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.
48 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Queretaro lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Diego Reyes 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 Paulo Victor 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.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
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.
Two goals and a mark of 9.62 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Player ratings1 Mar 2027
A brace, and Edison Gruezo takes the afternoon — 8.98
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Edison Gruezo provided it, and the 8.98 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Queretaro this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He is 22 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.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Paulo Victor 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.
Marked 8.22 — 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.
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Queretaro can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
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.
Marked 8.33 — 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 2‑0, Francisco Lainez could afford to be generous.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Queretaro they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Diego Reyes 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.
Pachuca left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Paulo Victor 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.
9 clean sheets and counting. Strikers leave this ground muttering his name, which is exactly how a goalkeeper measures a good season.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
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 Francisco Lainez left the room before anybody could ask which.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Queretaro told Edison Gruezo something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
In brief
The dugoutThe plan did not have a place for Mateo Coronel
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.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Los Angeles Football Club is saying, and nobody at Queretaro is enjoying the guessing.
Diego Reyes 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.
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.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Queretaro people have started saying his name in the past tense.
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Queretaro are no longer polite ones.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Queretaro close the window on a squad of their own making
0 in and 1 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Tijuana moved on, Eduardo Pérez reports back to Queretaro, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Words at Queretaro training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Michael Carcelén 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.
Los Angeles Football Club have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Queretaro can pretend not to have heard.
Michael Carcelén 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 Paulo Victor was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Diego Reyes 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.
A season average of 7.25 with 15 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words at Queretaro training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Michael Carcelén 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.
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑2 defeat, delivered by Francisco Lainez to a room that had heard them before.
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.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Humberto Norman is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Paulo Victor was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Michael Carcelén 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.
0‑1 to Tigres, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Paulo Victor 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 easiest signature of my career.” Carlos Villanueva and Queretaro agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
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 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 month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Mateo Coronel is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
A clause somebody insisted on years ago, in a negotiation nobody remembers, has just paid Queretaro $390.0K. Fernando Valenzuela left a long time ago; the paperwork stayed.
In brief
The dugoutSomebody else is better right now than Daniel Parra
A brace, and Mateo Coronel takes the afternoon — 9.09
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Mateo Coronel provided it, and the 9.09 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
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 earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Francisco Lainez on a 2‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Enzo Giménez wants continental football; whether Queretaro 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 Michael Carcelén was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Marked 8.24 — 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.
“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.
In brief
The dugoutJosé Sánchez dropped after a run of poor form
Diego Reyes 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.
At 21 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.
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 dugout14 Dec 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Francisco Lainez was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Queretaro dressing room was either.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Eduardo Pérez’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Queretaro needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Michael Carcelén was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
José Sánchez 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 easiest signature of my career.” Pavel García and Queretaro agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad7 Dec 2026
A place in the month's best eleven for Edison Gruezo
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Edison Gruezo has come out of that comparison in the side, and Queretaro have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Bernardo Parra, and the manager let it.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Francisco Lainez was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Queretaro dressing room was either.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 13 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Club America defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
16 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Queretaro lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
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.
Diego Reyes and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Mateo Coronel was on a different afternoon to everybody else
10.00. 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.
He is 19 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.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Enzo Giménez was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.06. 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.
The words a physio says slowly. 24 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Queretaro have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Diego Reyes 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.
Position 11, 20 points, and every result so far reduced to one line. The second half of the season starts with the same squad and a different set of expectations.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jesús Vega was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Francisco Lainez after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
31 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Queretaro lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Diego Reyes 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 Lucas Abascia 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.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Guadalajara in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
The words a physio says slowly. 39 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 Queretaro 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.
Level with 94 minutes on the clock, after an afternoon Queretaro had all but put away. Toluca will call it a point earned; the home dressing room will call it two given away, and both of them are right.
46 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Queretaro lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Successful dribbles: 23. 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.
Lucas Abascia 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Jhojan Julio. 1‑0 against Chiapas, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Jhojan Julio was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.07. 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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Jesús Vega 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.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Francisco Lainez on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
The words a physio says slowly. 53 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.
Two goals and a mark of 9.01 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.03 at 34, and nobody on the pitch was better.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Lucas Abascia was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad26 Oct 2026
10 new faces, and Queretaro 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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Queretaro this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
62 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Queretaro lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
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.
Diego Reyes 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.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Humberto Norman is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
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 dugout19 Oct 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 0‑2 defeat, delivered by Francisco Lainez to a room that had heard them before.
70 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Queretaro lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Some goals win a match and some take one off somebody else. Jhojan Julio scored in the 86th minute, Puebla had already begun thinking about the journey home, and Queretaro took the lot.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Queretaro this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Rubén Arellano is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
A performance of 8.65 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Words at Queretaro training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bernardo Parra 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.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager’s verdict
Looking aheadA test against the best for Queretaro
The words a physio says slowly. 77 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Queretaro have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Lucas Abascia was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The board was up, the win was priced in, and then Tijuana scored. There is no worse minute to concede in and the ground emptied in the silence that follows one.
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.
86 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Queretaro lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
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.
Diego Reyes and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
“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.
The words a physio says slowly. 94 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.
Diego Reyes 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. 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 Edison Gruezo, and the manager let it.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words at Queretaro training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bernardo Parra 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.
10 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
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 Francisco Lainez left the room before anybody could ask which.
Cruz Azul next, and one man in the Queretaro dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
104 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Queretaro lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
0‑1 to Pumas UNAM, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at Queretaro training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Lucas Abascia 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.
200 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
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 Francisco Lainez left the room before anybody could ask which.
Successful dribbles: 12. 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.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Monterrey in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
In brief
The dugoutEdison Gruezo asks for a word with the manager
The dugoutThe plan did not have a place for Edison Gruezo
Daniel Parra damages knee ligaments — 112 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 112 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.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Queretaro close the window on a squad of their own making
10 in and 1 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Lucas Abascia 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 Michael Carcelén was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A mark of 7.38, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Francisco Lainez was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Queretaro dressing room was either.
In brief
Looking aheadQueretaro take on the side everybody is chasing
A brace, and Carlo Adriano takes the afternoon — 8.15
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Carlo Adriano provided it, and the 8.15 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Diego Reyes 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.
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.
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 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 earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Francisco Lainez on a 2‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
Successful dribbles: 26. 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. Enzo Giménez wants continental football; whether Queretaro can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
Diego Reyes 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 Michael Carcelén was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
200 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.
“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.
In brief
The dugoutSomebody else is better right now than Jesús Vega
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 8 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Marked 6.90 on 20 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
Morelia paid $2.5M and Queretaro took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all 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 Queretaro 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 Santiago Homenchenko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Francisco Lainez after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
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 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.
0‑3 against Club America, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Diego Reyes 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 academy exists for exactly this morning. Sebastian Ramirez 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Sebastian Lozano 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. Erick Vega 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. Raul Salcedo 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.
Boardroom10 Aug 2026
Nobody left the Queretaro dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
4 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
A brace, and Jhojan Julio takes the afternoon — 9.36
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Jhojan Julio provided it, and the 9.36 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Queretaro this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Mateo Coronel was on a different afternoon to everybody else
10.00. 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.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 7 goals between Queretaro and Dorados, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Successful dribbles: 21. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words at Queretaro training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Michael Carcelén 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.