The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Teo Rodríguez Pagano did not need any: 7.65, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.63 for the rest of it.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Teo Rodríguez Pagano 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.
Successful dribbles: 19. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
In brief
Player ratingsNinety minutes of Rodrigo Auzmendi at his very best
The dugoutThe view from the dugout
Looking aheadA test against the best for San Lorenzo
9 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Alexis Cuello and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
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.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Vélez? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
8 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Alexis Cuello 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.
5 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Words at San Lorenzo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gastón Hernández 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. Chuequito 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. Enzo Figueroa 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 clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around San Lorenzo people have started saying his name 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 San Lorenzo 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 Gastón Hernández was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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 San Lorenzo will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at San Lorenzo, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Alexis Cuello’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and San Lorenzo needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at San Lorenzo. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Daniel Herrera trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Alexis Cuello signs something — a contract at San Lorenzo or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Alexis Cuello 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.
Add another name to the list: Queens Park Rangers have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Branco Salinardi. The answer from San Lorenzo has not changed — yet.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Gastón Hernández was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at San Lorenzo 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.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Matías Reali has written the date down.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one San Lorenzo will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Facundo Altamirano may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
In brief
The dugoutGuzmán Corujo knocks on the manager's door
Alexis Cuello 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.” Branco Salinardi and San Lorenzo agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Nobody at San Lorenzo 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.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Ezequiel Herrera has written the date down.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and San Lorenzo have no good answer.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at San Lorenzo is running low.
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Valentino Otero has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at San Lorenzo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. San Lorenzo will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
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.
Something was said to Nicolás Tripichio and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
Every squad is half players the manager chose and half players he inherited. Nicolás Tripichio was chosen, the man who chose him has gone, and he starts again from nothing under the next one.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around San Lorenzo they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nicolás Tripichio was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The name of Brandon Verón has come up in conversations San Lorenzo were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Alexis Cuello signs something — a contract at San Lorenzo or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Alexis Cuello 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 Nicolás Tripichio was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Alan Velázquez and San Lorenzo agree another 4 years.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Manuel Insaurralde has written the date down.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Nahuel Barrios signs something — a contract at San Lorenzo or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” San Lorenzo have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The offer from Zulia for Axel Araujo was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Alexis Cuello 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 Gustavo Del Prete was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
Daniel Herrera 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.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. San Lorenzo have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Thiago Perugini will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around San Lorenzo the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at San Lorenzo 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.
The phone has started ringing about Axel Araujo again, and this time the name on the line is Zulia. San Lorenzo are listening politely and promising nothing.
“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 San Lorenzo will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” San Lorenzo have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around San Lorenzo they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Alexis Cuello and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words at San Lorenzo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nicolás Tripichio is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Alexis Cuello signs something — a contract at San Lorenzo or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at San Lorenzo. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at San Lorenzo is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” San Lorenzo have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Alexis Cuello 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 Gustavo Del Prete was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Ezequiel Herrera has written the date down.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at San Lorenzo is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Alexis Cuello 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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at San Lorenzo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nicolás Tripichio 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 have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one San Lorenzo will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Manuel Insaurralde trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
4 goals in 11 games at St. Gallen — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at San Lorenzo updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at San Lorenzo that is a harder question to answer.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at San Lorenzo is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Danilo Arboleda has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at San Lorenzo 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Nahuel Barrios and San Lorenzo agree another 3 years.
Something was said to Facundo Farías and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at San Lorenzo, another week without a signature from Nahuel Barrios.
Nobody at San Lorenzo 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. José Devecchi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around San Lorenzo the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Alexis Cuello and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Words at San Lorenzo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gustavo Del Prete 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.
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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Alexis Cuello signs something — a contract at San Lorenzo or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at San Lorenzo, another week without a signature from José Devecchi.
In brief
The dugoutGonzalo Alassia has become a man the manager trusts
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Nahuel Barrios will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around San Lorenzo the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Alexis Cuello and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Words at San Lorenzo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nicolás Tripichio 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.
100 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Franco Lorenzón will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around San Lorenzo the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Alexis Cuello 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Manuel Insaurralde will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around San Lorenzo the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at San Lorenzo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Nahuel Romero is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ezequiel Herrera and San Lorenzo agree another 4 years.
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.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at San Lorenzo, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. José Devecchi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around San Lorenzo the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad5 Oct 2026
12 new faces, and San Lorenzo 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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Valentino Otero after 1‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Nahuel Barrios will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around San Lorenzo the goodbyes have quietly begun.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Nahuel Arias has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
Alexis Cuello 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.
Words at San Lorenzo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nicolás Tripichio 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.
Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout28 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 2‑3 Valentino Otero left the room before anybody could ask which.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Nicolás Blanco
The dugoutThe plan did not have a place for Matías Reali
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around San Lorenzo they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Alexis Cuello 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.
0‑1 to Boca Juniors, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words at San Lorenzo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gustavo Del Prete 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.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at San Lorenzo, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around San Lorenzo they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The offer from Al Fujairah for Alan Salas was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Mauricio Cardillo has agreed terms with Independiente 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 San Lorenzo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
6 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at San Lorenzo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nicolás Tripichio 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.
Minute 93, against Unión de Santa Fe, 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.
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.
Gustavo Del Prete had done his part in building a 2-goal cushion. What happened after that was collective, and Talleres were allowed back into a match that had been finished with.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Gustavo Del Prete provided it, and the 8.03 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at San Lorenzo is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The offer from Las Palmas for Teo Rodríguez Pagano was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Facundo Altamirano has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
Alexis Cuello and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at San Lorenzo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gastón Hernández 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.
Facundo Gulli wins it after the whistle should have gone
92 minutes played. Facundo Gulli found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and Deportivo Riestra went from a point to nothing inside one movement.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. San Lorenzo have lost him in all but the paperwork.
The offer from Levante for Gustavo Del Prete was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Facundo Gulli, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 8.29
A mark of 8.29 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around San Lorenzo they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. José Devecchi has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
Alexis Cuello 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 Uriel Ojeda was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Lautaro Cueli: 4 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
Quilmes go through and San Lorenzo go home, 1‑1 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
It is a specific kind of quiet, a ground watching a winning position dissolve. Central Córdoba SdE kept coming because nothing stopped them, and San Lorenzo will be asked about the last half hour all week.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around San Lorenzo people have started saying his name in the past tense.
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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around San Lorenzo they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mathías de Ritis will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around San Lorenzo the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Mathías de Ritis has agreed terms with Estudiantes 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 San Lorenzo 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Rodrigo Auzmendi. 2‑1 against Estudiantes, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
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.
Genoa paid $4.1M and San Lorenzo took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Manuel Insaurralde will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around San Lorenzo the goodbyes have quietly begun.
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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Nicolás Tripichio and San Lorenzo agree another 3 years.
Alexis Cuello and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Successful dribbles: 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.
The offer from Espanyol for Alexis Cuello was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
The name of Ignacio Perruzzi has come up in conversations San Lorenzo were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Gastón Hernández was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
11 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
“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.