8 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Player ratings15 Feb 2027
A brace, and Julian Angulo takes the afternoon — 8.55
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Julian Angulo provided it, and the 8.55 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Santiago Rey was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Julian Angulo 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.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 2‑2, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Squad15 Feb 2027
The division's best last weekend was a Real Santander man
It is a small honour and it is not nothing: somebody watched every match in the division and decided that Julian Angulo was the best thing in any of them.
Santiago Rey 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.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Words at Real Santander training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Julian Angulo 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 supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Squad8 Feb 2027
A place in the month's best eleven for Julian Angulo
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Julian Angulo has come out of that comparison in the side, and Real Santander have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
2‑5 to Llaneros, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Two goals and a mark of 8.36 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
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.
7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Real Santander and Llaneros in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Álex Segura 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.” 2‑5, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Two goals and a mark of 8.33 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Real Santander this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Successful dribbles: 21. 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.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Julian Angulo 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.
At 20 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.
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.
In brief
The dugoutThe view from the dugout
BoardroomReal Santander turn down the training-ground plan
Julian Angulo 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 Real Santander training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Faiber Mendoza 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. Once Caldas have kept their man, and Real Santander go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Rafael Barrios is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
A manager forgives a bad Saturday far more readily than a bad Tuesday, because one of them he can explain and the other one he chose. The reports this week have not been good.
Julian Angulo 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 now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Defensores have kept their man, and Real Santander 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 Álex Segura 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 Julian Angulo trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Real Santander can pretend not to have heard.
Words at Real Santander training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Julian Angulo 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. Deportivo Cali have kept their man, and Real Santander go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
He used to be one of the options. He is now one of the men the options are picked around, and the change happened quietly enough that only the dressing room noticed on the day.
“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 Real Santander, 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 Real Santander 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 Faiber Mendoza was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
Real Santander have made the call to Defensores. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Santiago Rey 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Santiago Torres is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Álex Segura 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.
Real Santander have made the call to Newell's Old Boys. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Llaneros is saying, and nobody at Real Santander is enjoying the guessing.
Santiago Rey 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 Julian Angulo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. America de Cali have kept their man, and Real Santander go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Fortaleza CEIF 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.
Julian Angulo and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Words at Real Santander training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Faiber Mendoza 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.
Real Santander have made the call to America de Cali. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Real Santander have made the call to Millonarios. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The registration window is open and the phone has started. Between now and the deadline this club will be linked with forty players and sign three, which is the usual ratio.
The standards have slipped, and in a building where everybody watches everybody it has not gone unremarked. This is how a player loses a place before he loses 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 Real Santander this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Álex Segura falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
In brief
The dugoutBreinner Román asks for a word with the manager
The dugoutThe manager plants his flag on Michell Díaz
Santiago Rey 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 Julian Angulo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Julian Angulo 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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at Real Santander training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Faiber Mendoza 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 academy exists for exactly this morning. James Cuadrado 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Álex Segura was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Real Santander this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Julian Angulo 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 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.
The words a physio says slowly. 17 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.
Julian Angulo 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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Words at Real Santander training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Faiber Mendoza 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.
24 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Real Santander lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Julian Angulo 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 Álex Segura was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Breinner Román
The words a physio says slowly. 31 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Julian Angulo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Real Santander this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Every club 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 it has been tried.
Julian Angulo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad28 Sep 2026
5 new faces, and Real Santander 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.
The shrug has gone, the language is coming, and he now argues in training like somebody who expects to be here next year. Half a signing's value is this and none of it appears on a fee.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager plants his flag on Michell Díaz
Santiago Rey 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.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words at Real Santander training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Julian Angulo 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.
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Junior García has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
Santiago Rey and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at Real Santander training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Julian Angulo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Camilo Diaz 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Real Santander this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at Real Santander training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Faiber Mendoza 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 has re-ordered his thinking and Luyz Caicedo has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
Santiago Rey 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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Julian Angulo 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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
5 new faces, and Real Santander 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.
20 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Real Santander lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Julian Angulo 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 Real Santander training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Faiber Mendoza is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
0-3, and long before the end the away end had switched from encouragement to something considerably more pointed. Nobody rings a phone-in about losing narrowly.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Faiber Mendoza was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
The dugout17 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 0‑3 defeat, delivered by Juan Duque to a room that had heard them before.
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
Julian Angulo 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Richard Palacios 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. Alejandro Restrepo is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Julian Angulo and Real Santander agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Real Santander this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Julian Angulo 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.