Tacuarembo U20

14 Nov 2030
Thursday
Process
224 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

11 Nov 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Anderson Brum has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Tacuarembo they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Market

Yoan Termezana puts it in writing

“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 The request is on a desk at Tacuarembo, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Álex Perdomo in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Fausto Rivero gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Market

Anderson Brum runs his contract down

3 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Tacuarembo money.

Market

Talks stall between Tacuarembo and Fausto Rivero

“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.

In brief

Back issues
223 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

4 Nov 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Tacuarembo are in real trouble now

Position 12, 22 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.

Market

Lucas Cohen has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Tacuarembo they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Pablo López in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Maximiliano Camargo gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Market

Tacuarembo and Joaquín Nazar are talking past each other

“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.

Market

The shop window has Anderson Brum in it

Tacuarembo have let the market know Anderson Brum can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.

In brief

222 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

28 Oct 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

The silence upstairs is getting loud at Tacuarembo

Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.

Market

Anderson Brum asks to leave Tacuarembo

“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.

Squad

Nicolás González in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

In brief

221 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

21 Oct 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Tempers go at Tacuarembo

Pablo López 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.

Squad

Tacuarembo lose Néstor Álvarez

43 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Joaquín Nazar

“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.

In brief

220 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

14 Oct 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Anderson Brum is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Tacuarembo is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Market

Yoan Termezana hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Tacuarembo can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Pablo López in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Santiago Vargas gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Squad

Anderson Brum asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

Market

The clock does Anderson Brum’s negotiating for him

4 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Tacuarembo could ask drops and the wages Anderson Brum can ask rise.

In brief

219 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

7 Oct 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Tacuarembo sink to position 12

22 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.

Market

Only the photograph left for Lucas Cohen

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Lucas Cohen will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Tacuarembo the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Facundo Píriz keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Tacuarembo may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Nicolás González in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

No hiding place for Lucas Cohen

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Lucas Cohen, and the manager let it.

Market

Still no ink between Tacuarembo and Lucas Cohen

“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Tacuarembo, another week without a signature from Lucas Cohen.

In brief

218 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

30 Sep 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

The scrutiny sharpens at Tacuarembo

Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Tacuarembo is running low.

Market

Anderson Brum hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Tacuarembo can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Pablo López in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

In brief

217 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

23 Sep 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Yoan Termezana says Tacuarembo went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Squad

Nicolás González in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Tacuarembo count the cost of losing Néstor Álvarez

71 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

In brief

216 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

16 Sep 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Only the photograph left for Anderson Brum

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Anderson Brum will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Tacuarembo the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Market

Yoan Termezana puts it in writing

“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 Tacuarembo, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Pablo López in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Santiago Vargas

“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.

Squad

Joaquín Nazar knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Tacuarembo, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Market

Anderson Brum runs his contract down

5 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Tacuarembo money.

In brief

215 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

9 Sep 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Tacuarembo are in real trouble now

Position 12, 22 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.

Market

Only the photograph left for Lucas Cohen

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Lucas Cohen will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Tacuarembo the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Joaquín Salinas: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Tacuarembo have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

In brief

214 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

2 Sep 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

Tacuarembo put Andres Pellistri on notice

The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.

Boardroom

Pressure builds in the Tacuarembo boardroom

The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.

Squad

Pablo López in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Boardroom

88% of the income goes out in wages at Tacuarembo

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.

Market

Tacuarembo and Joaquín Nazar are talking past each other

“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.

Squad

No hiding place for Federico Sansone

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Federico Sansone, and the manager let it.

In brief

213 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

26 Aug 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Anderson Brum asks to leave Tacuarembo

“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.

Squad

Tempers go at Tacuarembo

Pablo López 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.

Squad

Tacuarembo lose Néstor Álvarez

99 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Squad

Maximiliano Camargo gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Boardroom

Tacuarembo counting the cost

The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Tacuarembo now.

Squad

Anderson Brum asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

In brief

212 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

19 Aug 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Only the photograph left for Anderson Brum

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Anderson Brum will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Tacuarembo the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Market

Juan Bentancur hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Tacuarembo can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Tempers go at Tacuarembo

Álex Perdomo 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.

Squad

Lucas Cohen gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Market

A long bet from Tacuarembo on Joaquin Viera

He is 20, and nobody at Tacuarembo signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.

Squad

Anderson Brum knocks on the manager’s door

“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Anderson Brum trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

In brief

211 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

12 Aug 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

The wait goes on for Tacuarembo

13 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.

Match

Tacuarembo are in real trouble now

Position 12, 22 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.

Market

Lucas Cohen has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Tacuarembo they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Franco Grigera keeps Tacuarembo in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Squad

Federico Sansone says Tacuarembo went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Squad

Tempers go at Tacuarembo

Pablo López 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.

Squad

Diego Méndez out for 33 days

The medical room confirms 33 days on the sidelines for Diego Méndez, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Player ratings

Nicolás González runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Match

A bad afternoon for Tacuarembo against Uruguay Montevideo

0‑2 to Uruguay Montevideo, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

In brief

210 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

5 Aug 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

No end in sight to Tacuarembo's wait for a win

12 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Tacuarembo has to find a result from somewhere.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Joaquín Nazar

Defensive actions: 28. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Squad

Franco Grigera signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Franco Grigera commits to Tacuarembo for another 3 years.

Squad

Tempers go at Tacuarembo

Nicolás González 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.

Player ratings

Nicolás González runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Sebastián Píriz

Defensive actions: 19. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Anderson Brum

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 18 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

Boardroom

90% of the income goes out in wages at Tacuarembo

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.

Squad

Santiago Vargas gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

In brief

209 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

29 Jul 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

No end in sight to Tacuarembo's wait for a win

11 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Tacuarembo has to find a result from somewhere.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Sebastián Píriz

Defensive actions: 34. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Market

Anderson Brum puts it in writing

“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 Tacuarembo, and it is not being withdrawn.

Market

Only the photograph left for Nahuel Píriz

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Nahuel Píriz will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Tacuarembo the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Santiago Vargas keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Tacuarembo may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Tempers go at Tacuarembo

Pablo López 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.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Anderson Brum

Defensive actions: 16. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Player ratings

Tomás Regina takes the honours

Marked 7.56 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Tacuarembo had the best player on the pitch.

Squad

Maximiliano Camargo gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

In brief

208 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

22 Jul 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

The wait goes on for Tacuarembo

10 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.

Market

Andre Trauco asks to leave Tacuarembo

“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.

Squad

Tempers go at Tacuarembo

Nicolás González 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.

Player ratings

One of those days for Nicolás González

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.75, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Squad

Sebastián Píriz gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Match

Tacuarembo share the spoils with Rentistas

A 1‑1 draw with Rentistas leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.

Player ratings

The one thing Álex Perdomo could not do

Shots: 13, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.

Squad

Nahuel Píriz knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Tacuarembo, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Pablo López

Successful dribbles: 13. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

In brief

207 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

15 Jul 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

9 matches without a win for Tacuarembo

The run now stands at 9, and the questions being asked around Tacuarembo are no longer polite ones.

Match

Tacuarembo are in real trouble now

Position 12, 19 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.

Squad

Tacuarembo lose Diego Méndez

61 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Squad

Tempers go at Tacuarembo

Pablo López 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.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Nahuel Píriz

“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.

Match

A bad afternoon for Tacuarembo against Central Espanol

0‑1 to Central Espanol, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad

Costly mistake from Franco Grigera

An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Franco Grigera knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Nicolás González

Successful dribbles: 12. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Player ratings

Álex Perdomo keeps on missing

Shots: 10, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.

In brief

206 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

8 Jul 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Franco Grigera

There were 10 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Market

Nahuel Píriz asks to leave Tacuarembo

“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.

Match

No end in sight to Tacuarembo's wait for a win

8 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Tacuarembo has to find a result from somewhere.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Anderson Brum

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 27 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Sebastián Píriz

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 26 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Tomás Regina

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 23 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

Squad

Pablo López in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Álex Perdomo

“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.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Nicolás González

Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

In brief

205 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

1 Jul 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Nahuel Píriz is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Tacuarembo is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Match

No end in sight to Tacuarembo's wait for a win

7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Tacuarembo has to find a result from somewhere.

Squad

Tempers go at Tacuarembo

Pablo López 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.

Player ratings

Nicolás González runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Match

A bad afternoon for Tacuarembo against La Luz

1‑2 to La Luz, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad

Anderson Brum gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Boardroom

Tacuarembo counting the cost

The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Tacuarembo now.

Market

Still no ink between Tacuarembo and Lucas Cohen

“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Tacuarembo, another week without a signature from Lucas Cohen.

Squad

No place for Mateo Pisso on the big day

He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Tacuarembo pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.

In brief

204 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

24 Jun 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

6 matches without a win for Tacuarembo

The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Tacuarembo are no longer polite ones.

Squad

Pedro Lapeyra: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Tacuarembo have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Market

Andre Trauco hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Tacuarembo can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Pablo López in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Tacuarembo come up short against Oriental

Oriental left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Squad

Franco Grigera lets one through his hands

A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.

Squad

No hiding place for Néstor Álvarez

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Néstor Álvarez, and the manager let it.

Market

The clock does Nahuel Píriz’s negotiating for him

1 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Tacuarembo could ask drops and the wages Nahuel Píriz can ask rise.

Player ratings

The one thing Fausto Rivero could not do

Shots: 7, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.

In brief

203 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

17 Jun 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Tacuarembo are in real trouble now

Position 12, 18 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.

Market

Richard Muriel hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Tacuarembo can pretend not to have heard.

Match

No end in sight to Tacuarembo's wait for a win

5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Tacuarembo has to find a result from somewhere.

Squad

Diego Méndez out for 89 days

The medical room confirms 89 days on the sidelines for Diego Méndez, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Squad

Álex Perdomo in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Tomás Regina shuts the door

Defensive actions: 22, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Player ratings

Sebastián Píriz shuts the door

Defensive actions: 18, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Squad

Facundo Píriz gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Player ratings

Pablo López runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 13. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

In brief

202 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

10 Jun 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Nahuel Píriz hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Tacuarembo can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Maximiliano Camargo keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Tacuarembo may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Match

No end in sight to Tacuarembo's wait for a win

4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Tacuarembo has to find a result from somewhere.

Squad

Tempers go at Tacuarembo

Nicolás González 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.

Match

A bad afternoon for Tacuarembo against Rampla Juniors

1‑2 to Rampla Juniors, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Álex Perdomo

“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.

Player ratings

One of those days for Anderson Brum

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.40, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Nicolás González

Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Market

Still no ink between Tacuarembo and Anderson Brum

“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Tacuarembo, another week without a signature from Anderson Brum.

In brief

201 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

3 Jun 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Only the photograph left for Nahuel Píriz

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Nahuel Píriz will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Tacuarembo the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Market

Facundo Píriz hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Tacuarembo can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Nicolás González in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Pablo López

Marked 8.62 — 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.

Squad

No hiding place for Mateo Pisso

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mateo Pisso, and the manager let it.

Player ratings

Nicolás González runs at them all day

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.

Match

Honours even between Tacuarembo and Deportivo Maldonado

1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.

Boardroom

Tacuarembo counting the cost

The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Tacuarembo now.

Squad

The armband comes off Pablo López

Tacuarembo will explain it as a decision about the team, and it may well be one. A dressing room has never once read it that way.

In brief

200 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

27 May 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Franco Grigera keeps Tacuarembo in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Match

Tacuarembo out of the cup

Penarol ended it 1‑2. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.

The terraces

The ground has had enough

“We travel everywhere and we get this.” 7 of the 30 senior players heard it walking off, and the ones who did not hear it were not playing.

Squad

Yoan Termezana: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Tacuarembo have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Player ratings

Nicolás González runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 24. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Anderson Brum

Defensive actions: 23. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Squad

Pablo López in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Joaquín Nazar

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 22 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Nahuel Píriz

“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.

In brief

199 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

20 May 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Sebastián Píriz

Defensive actions: 26. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Squad

Diego Méndez out for 117 days

The medical room confirms 117 days on the sidelines for Diego Méndez, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Squad

Nicolás González in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Anderson Brum in the eights

A performance of 9.43 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

No hiding place for Anderson Brum

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Anderson Brum, and the manager let it.

Match

Tacuarembo find a way past Cerrito

Cerrito made Tacuarembo work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Player ratings

One of those days for Diego Méndez

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.50, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Player ratings

Pablo López runs at them all day

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.

Market

The shop window has Nahuel Píriz in it

Tacuarembo have let the market know Nahuel Píriz can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.

In brief

198 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

13 May 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Tempers go at Tacuarembo

Nicolás González 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.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Álex Perdomo

“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.

Match

A bad afternoon for Tacuarembo against Uruguay Montevideo

0‑1 to Uruguay Montevideo, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Nicolás González

Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Boardroom

Wages eat 89% of everything Tacuarembo earn

There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.

Squad

Anderson Brum asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

Player ratings

Álex Perdomo keeps on missing

Shots: 10, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.

Player ratings

Off the pace: Fausto Rivero

A mark of 5.77 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.

Squad

Pablo López wants a proper job in this side

Shifted about, taken off before the hour, asked to do somebody else's running — Pablo López has had enough of being useful and would like to be picked. Tacuarembo know, and have known for weeks.

In brief

197 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

6 May 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Tacuarembo are in real trouble now

Position 12, 12 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.

Squad

Facundo Píriz says Tacuarembo went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Market

Andre Trauco puts it in writing

“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 Tacuarembo, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Pablo López stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Pablo López and Tacuarembo agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Tempers go at Tacuarembo

Pablo López 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.

Player ratings

Álex Perdomo runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Player ratings

One of those days for Diego Méndez

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.66, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Match

Tacuarembo and Atenas take a point apiece

It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.

Squad

Néstor Álvarez gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

In brief

196 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

29 Apr 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Nahuel Píriz hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Tacuarembo can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Tempers go at Tacuarembo

Nicolás González 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.

Player ratings

Álex Perdomo runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Match

Tacuarembo come up short against Danubio

Danubio left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Squad

Lucas Cohen gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Market

The clock does Nahuel Píriz’s negotiating for him

3 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Tacuarembo could ask drops and the wages Nahuel Píriz can ask rise.

In brief

195 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

22 Apr 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Nicolás González in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Pablo López

Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Match

Álex Perdomo the difference as Tacuarembo beat Rentistas

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Álex Perdomo. 2‑1 against Rentistas, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

In brief

194 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

15 Apr 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Franco Grigera

There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Squad

Néstor Álvarez keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Tacuarembo may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Match

5 matches without a win for Tacuarembo

The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Tacuarembo are no longer polite ones.

Squad

Tempers go at Tacuarembo

Álex Perdomo 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.

Player ratings

Anderson Brum in the eights

A performance of 8.91 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

No hiding place for Nahuel Píriz

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nahuel Píriz, and the manager let it.

In brief

193 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

8 Apr 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Franco Grigera

There were 12 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Match

Tacuarembo are in real trouble now

Position 13, 7 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.

Market

Andre Trauco asks to leave Tacuarembo

“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.

Match

The wait goes on for Tacuarembo

4 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.

Squad

Tempers go at Tacuarembo

Pablo López 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.

Player ratings

One of those days for Anderson Brum

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.81, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Squad

No hiding place for Facundo Píriz

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Facundo Píriz, and the manager let it.

Match

Anderson Brum rescues a point for Tacuarembo

It needed Anderson Brum to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Colon, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.

Boardroom

Tacuarembo counting the cost

The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Tacuarembo now.

In brief

192 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

1 Apr 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Franco Grigera keeps Tacuarembo in it on his own

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.

Market

Nahuel Píriz asks to leave Tacuarembo

“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.

Market

Maximiliano Camargo is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Tacuarembo is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Pablo López in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

La Luz take the points off Tacuarembo

Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Nicolás González

Marked 8.74 — 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.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Álex Perdomo

“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.

Squad

Nicolás González finally opens his account

He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Tacuarembo have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.

Market

Still no signature from Nahuel Píriz

4 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Tacuarembo could get for him.

In brief

191 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

25 Mar 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Tempers go at Tacuarembo

Pablo López 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.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Mateo Pisso

“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.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Nicolás González

Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

In brief

190 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

18 Mar 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

Tacuarembo through in the cup

A 2‑1 win over Defensor Sporting, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.

Match

Chastening afternoon for Tacuarembo

A 1‑4 beating by Artigas was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.

Squad

Pablo López in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Anderson Brum

“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.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Santiago Vargas

Marked 8.30 — 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.

Squad

Tacuarembo lose Agustin Cardozo

14 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Boardroom

Doors closed at Tacuarembo

The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Pablo López

Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Álex Perdomo finally opens his account

He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Tacuarembo have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.

In brief

189 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

11 Mar 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Andre Trauco puts it in writing

“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 Tacuarembo, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Álex Perdomo in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Pablo López

Marked 8.69 — 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.

Player ratings

Diego Méndez in the eights

A performance of 8.29 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Match

Tacuarembo and Rampla Juniors take a point apiece

It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.

Boardroom

Tacuarembo counting the cost

The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Tacuarembo now.

Squad

Pablo López finally opens his account

He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Tacuarembo have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.

Squad

No hiding place for Deibys Moyano

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Deibys Moyano, and the manager let it.

Player ratings

Nicolás González runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 10. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

In brief

188 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

4 Mar 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Mateo Pisso

There were 8 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Market

Only the photograph left for Maximiliano Camargo

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Maximiliano Camargo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Tacuarembo the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Anderson Brum

Defensive actions: 23. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Squad

Pablo López in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Álex Perdomo

“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.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Pablo López

Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Nahuel Píriz asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

Match

Point won or two lost for Tacuarembo?

Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Deportivo Maldonado? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.

Player ratings

A day to forget for Néstor Álvarez

Marked 5.64, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.

In brief

187 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

25 Feb 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Álex Perdomo in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

A bad afternoon for Tacuarembo against Miramar Misiones

0‑1 to Miramar Misiones, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad

No hiding place for Sebastián Píriz

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Sebastián Píriz, and the manager let it.

In brief

186 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

18 Feb 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Álex Perdomo

Successful dribbles: 34. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Néstor Álvarez: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Tacuarembo have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Pablo López in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Anderson Brum

Marked 9.46 — 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.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Tomás Regina

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 21 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

Match

Tacuarembo see off Cerrito

Three points for Tacuarembo, 1‑0 the final word against Cerrito in a contest settled by the finer margins.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Diego Méndez

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.

Squad

Anderson Brum finally opens his account

He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Tacuarembo have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Joaquín Nazar

“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.

In brief

185 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

11 Feb 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Andre Trauco hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Tacuarembo can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Tempers go at Tacuarembo

Nicolás González 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.

Market

Jonathan Castro is a Tacuarembo player again

He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.

Market

As if he never left: Thiago Gomez returns

Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Thiago Gomez is a Tacuarembo player again, and the town has its story of the summer.

Market

Andre Trauco is a Tacuarembo player again

He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Anderson Brum

“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.

In brief

184 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

4 Feb 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Facundo Píriz keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Tacuarembo may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Market

Maximiliano Camargo is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Tacuarembo is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Nicolás González in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

Talks stall between Tacuarembo and Anderson Brum

“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.

Squad

Anderson Brum asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

Market

Still no signature from Nahuel Píriz

6 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Tacuarembo could get for him.

In brief

183 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

28 Jan 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Nahuel Píriz puts it in writing

“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 Tacuarembo, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Pablo López in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

No hiding place for Facundo Píriz

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Facundo Píriz, and the manager let it.

In brief

182 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

21 Jan 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Álex Perdomo in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Lucas López out for 34 days

The medical room confirms 34 days on the sidelines for Lucas López, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Boardroom

Tacuarembo keep producing them

16 graduates from an academy now rated 9 out of 20. A club this size does not survive any other way, and every name on that list is known in the town.

In brief

181 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

14 Jan 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

Pressure builds in the Tacuarembo boardroom

The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.

Market

Only the photograph left for Daan Erkelens

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Daan Erkelens will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Tacuarembo the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Tempers go at Tacuarembo

Nicolás González 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.

Squad

No hiding place for Maximiliano Camargo

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Maximiliano Camargo, and the manager let it.

Boardroom

The numbers do not look good at Tacuarembo

Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.

Squad

Nahuel Píriz knocks on the manager’s door

“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Nahuel Píriz trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

In brief

180 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

7 Jan 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

The season belongs to Anderson Brum

An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Tacuarembo have had the benefit of it.

Market

Maximiliano Camargo is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Tacuarembo is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Álex Perdomo stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Álex Perdomo and Tacuarembo agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Nicolás González in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Sebastián Píriz gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Market

Still no signature from Nahuel Píriz

7 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Tacuarembo could get for him.

In brief

179 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

31 Dec 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Nahuel Píriz puts it in writing

“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 Tacuarembo, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Pablo López in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Santiago Vargas

“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.

In brief

178 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

24 Dec 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Tempers go at Tacuarembo

Pablo López 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.

Squad

Tacuarembo lose Lucas López

62 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Squad

Somebody is after Nicolás González’s shirt

A new face in his position, and Nicolás González suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Tacuarembo have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.

In brief

177 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

17 Dec 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

The scrutiny sharpens at Tacuarembo

Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Tacuarembo is running low.

Market

Mateo Pisso hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Tacuarembo can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Anderson Brum is named among the best

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. Tacuarembo will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.

Market

Daan Erkelens is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Tacuarembo is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Pablo López in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

Ian López moves on

Montevideo City Torque pay $230.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.

In brief

176 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

10 Dec 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Esteban de Lima hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Tacuarembo can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Maximiliano Camargo has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Tacuarembo they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Tempers go at Tacuarembo

Pablo López 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.

Market

Tacuarembo and Maximiliano Camargo are talking past each other

“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.

Squad

Somebody is after Nahuel Píriz’s shirt

A new face in his position, and Nahuel Píriz suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Tacuarembo have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.

Market

Lucas Cohen joins Tacuarembo on a free

No fee and no drama: Lucas Cohen has signed at Tacuarembo, and the wage bill is the only line that moved.

In brief

175 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

3 Dec 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

Tacuarembo spell it out for Andres Pellistri

The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Andres Pellistri has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.

Market

Nahuel Píriz puts it in writing

“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 Tacuarembo, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Tempers go at Tacuarembo

Álex Perdomo 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.

In brief

174 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

26 Nov 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Tempers go at Tacuarembo

Pablo López 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.

Squad

Tacuarembo count the cost of losing Lucas López

90 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

Squad

No hiding place for Anderson Brum

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Anderson Brum, and the manager let it.

In brief

173 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

19 Nov 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

Pressure builds in the Tacuarembo boardroom

The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.

Market

Mateo Pisso puts it in writing

“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 Tacuarembo, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Tempers go at Tacuarembo

Álex Perdomo 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.

In brief

172 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

12 Nov 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Esteban de Lima hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Tacuarembo can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Maximiliano Camargo has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Tacuarembo they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Tempers go at Tacuarembo

Pablo López 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.

In brief

171 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

5 Nov 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Ian López puts it in writing

“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 Tacuarembo, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Pablo López in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Joaquín Nazar

“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.

In brief

170 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

29 Oct 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Tempers go at Tacuarembo

Pablo López 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.

Squad

Tacuarembo lose Lucas López

118 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Facundo Píriz

“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.

In brief

169 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

22 Oct 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

The silence upstairs is getting loud at Tacuarembo

Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.

Squad

Pablo López in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Mateo Pisso gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

In brief

168 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

15 Oct 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Mateo Pisso puts it in writing

“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 Tacuarembo, and it is not being withdrawn.

Market

Maximiliano Camargo is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Tacuarembo is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Álex Perdomo in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

In brief

167 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

8 Oct 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Ian López hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Tacuarembo can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Pablo López signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Pablo López and Tacuarembo agree another 2 years.

Squad

Pablo López in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

In brief

166 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

1 Oct 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Esteban de Lima puts it in writing

“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 Tacuarembo, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Tempers go at Tacuarembo

Pablo López 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.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Anderson Brum

“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.

In brief

165 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

24 Sep 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

The silence upstairs is getting loud at Tacuarembo

Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.

Market

Nahuel Píriz asks to leave Tacuarembo

“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.

Squad

Santiago Vargas: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Tacuarembo have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Pablo López in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Boardroom

Wages eat 87% of everything Tacuarembo earn

There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.

Boardroom

The numbers do not look good at Tacuarembo

Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.

In brief

164 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

17 Sep 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Mateo Pisso hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Tacuarembo can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Joaquín Nazar keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Tacuarembo may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Market

Only the photograph left for Maximiliano Camargo

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Maximiliano Camargo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Tacuarembo the goodbyes have quietly begun.

In brief

163 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

10 Sep 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Ian López puts it in writing

“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 Tacuarembo, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Pablo López in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

Tacuarembo put Esteban de Lima up for sale

The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Esteban de Lima may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.

In brief

162 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

3 Sep 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

Tacuarembo put Andres Pellistri on notice

The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.

Market

Esteban de Lima puts it in writing

“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 Tacuarembo, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Francisco Osorio says Tacuarembo went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Squad

Tempers go at Tacuarembo

Pablo López 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.

Squad

Tacuarembo lose Francisco Osorio

52 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Squad

Facundo Píriz knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Tacuarembo, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

161 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

27 Aug 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Nahuel Píriz hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Tacuarembo can pretend not to have heard.

Boardroom

The scrutiny sharpens at Tacuarembo

Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Tacuarembo is running low.

Squad

Tempers go at Tacuarembo

Álex Perdomo 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.

Boardroom

Wages eat 93% of everything Tacuarembo earn

There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.

Boardroom

The numbers do not look good at Tacuarembo

Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Lucas López

“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.

In brief

160 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

20 Aug 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Mateo Pisso hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Tacuarembo can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Maximiliano Camargo is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Tacuarembo is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Tempers go at Tacuarembo

Pablo López 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.

In brief

159 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

13 Aug 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Ian López hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Tacuarembo can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Tempers go at Tacuarembo

Álex Perdomo 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.

Squad

Anderson Brum asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

In brief

158 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

6 Aug 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Esteban de Lima puts it in writing

“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 Tacuarembo, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Tempers go at Tacuarembo

Pablo López 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.

Match

A bad afternoon for Tacuarembo against La Luz

0‑1 to La Luz, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad

Néstor Álvarez signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Néstor Álvarez and Tacuarembo agree another 3 years.

Player ratings

Nicolás González runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Santiago Vargas

“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.

In brief

157 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

30 Jul 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

Pressure builds in the Tacuarembo boardroom

The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.

Squad

Kevin Iglesias says Tacuarembo went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Squad

Tempers go at Tacuarembo

Nicolás González 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.

Match

Tacuarembo come up short against Oriental

Oriental left with the points after a 2‑4 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Player ratings

Nicolás González runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Player ratings

One of those days for Anderson Brum

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.31, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Squad

Anderson Brum is in the form of his life

A season average of 7.28 with 9 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.

Squad

No hiding place for Mateo Pisso

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mateo Pisso, and the manager let it.

Boardroom

Wages eat 99% of everything Tacuarembo earn

There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.

In brief

156 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

23 Jul 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Mateo Pisso hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Tacuarembo can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Facundo Píriz says Tacuarembo went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Market

Only the photograph left for Maximiliano Camargo

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Maximiliano Camargo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Tacuarembo the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Nicolás González in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Tomás Regina gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Squad

Nicolás González is carrying Tacuarembo

5 goals and a season average of 7.32. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

Player ratings

The afternoon belonged to Álex Perdomo

A mark of 7.61, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.

Match

Tacuarembo share the spoils with Artigas

A 1‑1 draw with Artigas leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.

Player ratings

Pablo López runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 14. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

In brief

155 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

16 Jul 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Ian López hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Tacuarembo can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Pablo López in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

One of those days for Diego Méndez

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.46, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Nicolás González

Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Match

Diego Méndez sends Tacuarembo past Liverpool Montevideo

It finished 2‑1, and it was Diego Méndez’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Tacuarembo.

Player ratings

Anderson Brum in the eights

A performance of 8.99 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

No hiding place for Álex Perdomo

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Álex Perdomo, and the manager let it.

Squad

Lautaro Rivero out for 32 days

The medical room confirms 32 days on the sidelines for Lautaro Rivero, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Squad

Anderson Brum is carrying Tacuarembo

8 goals and a season average of 7.26. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

In brief

154 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

9 Jul 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Nahuel Píriz puts it in writing

“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 Tacuarembo, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Mateo Pisso keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Tacuarembo may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Álex Perdomo in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Nicolás González in the eights

A performance of 9.11 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

Esteban de Lima gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Anderson Brum

Marked 8.53 — 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.

Squad

Francisco Osorio out for 31 days

The medical room confirms 31 days on the sidelines for Francisco Osorio, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Match

Honours even between Tacuarembo and Rentistas

2‑2, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.

Market

Esteban de Lima placed on the list

Tacuarembo have made Esteban de Lima available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.

In brief

153 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

2 Jul 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Santiago González keeps Tacuarembo in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Boardroom

The scrutiny sharpens at Tacuarembo

Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Tacuarembo is running low.

Squad

Pablo López in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Anderson Brum in the eights

A performance of 8.62 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Player ratings

One of those days for Diego Méndez

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.09, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Nicolás González

Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Boardroom

Wages eat 97% of everything Tacuarembo earn

There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.

Match

Tacuarembo share the spoils with Central Espanol

A 1‑1 draw with Central Espanol leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.

Boardroom

The numbers do not look good at Tacuarembo

Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.

In brief

152 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

25 Jun 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Mateo Pisso asks to leave Tacuarembo

“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.

Squad

Néstor Álvarez says Tacuarembo went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Market

Only the photograph left for Maximiliano Camargo

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Maximiliano Camargo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Tacuarembo the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Álex Perdomo in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Nicolás González in the eights

A performance of 9.32 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Match

Tacuarembo find a way past Cerrito

Cerrito made Tacuarembo work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Player ratings

One of those days for Ian López

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.81, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Santiago González

“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.

Player ratings

Diego Méndez runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

In brief

151 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

18 Jun 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Esteban de Lima hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Tacuarembo can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Santiago González keeps Tacuarembo in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Squad

Pablo López in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Anderson Brum

“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.

Match

A bad afternoon for Tacuarembo against Uruguay Montevideo

0‑1 to Uruguay Montevideo, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Nicolás González

Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Tacuarembo count the cost of losing Lautaro Rivero

60 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

Player ratings

Diego Méndez never got going

5.63 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.

Player ratings

Off the pace: Nahuel Píriz

A mark of 5.62 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.

In brief

150 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

11 Jun 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Ian López asks to leave Tacuarembo

“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.

Squad

Tempers go at Tacuarembo

Pablo López 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.

Player ratings

Nicolás González in the eights

A performance of 8.98 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

Tacuarembo lose Francisco Osorio

59 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Player ratings

Pablo López runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Match

Tacuarembo share the spoils with Atenas

A 1‑1 draw with Atenas leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.

Squad

Joaquín Moreira gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Squad

Anderson Brum knocks on the manager’s door

“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Anderson Brum trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

Player ratings

The one thing Álex Perdomo could not do

Shots: 9, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.

In brief

149 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

4 Jun 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Santiago González

There were 9 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Boardroom

Pressure builds in the Tacuarembo boardroom

The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.

Market

Daan Erkelens hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Tacuarembo can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Pablo López in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Pablo López runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

No hiding place for Álex Perdomo

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Álex Perdomo, and the manager let it.

Match

A bad afternoon for Tacuarembo against Danubio

0‑1 to Danubio, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Boardroom

Wages eat 95% of everything Tacuarembo earn

There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.

The terraces

Everybody has an opinion about Álex Perdomo

He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.

In brief

148 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

28 May 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Only the photograph left for Maximiliano Camargo

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Maximiliano Camargo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Tacuarembo the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Pablo López in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

One of those days for Nicolás González

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.40, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Match

Tacuarembo see off Rampla Juniors

Three points for Tacuarembo, 1‑0 the final word against Rampla Juniors in a contest settled by the finer margins.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Santiago Vargas

“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.

Boardroom

The numbers do not look good at Tacuarembo

Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.

Player ratings

Sebastián Píriz shuts the door

Defensive actions: 14, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Diego Méndez

Successful dribbles: 13. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Facundo Píriz asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

In brief

147 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

21 May 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Esteban de Lima asks to leave Tacuarembo

“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 ratings

Nothing got past Sebastián Píriz

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 25 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

Squad

Santiago González in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Mateo Pisso gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Player ratings

Anderson Brum shuts the door

Defensive actions: 17, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Tomás Regina

Defensive actions: 16. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

In brief

146 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

14 May 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Ian López puts it in writing

“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 Tacuarembo, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Pablo López in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

A bad afternoon for Tacuarembo against Fenix

0‑1 to Fenix, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad

Facundo Píriz gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Squad

Esteban de Lima asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

Player ratings

Nicolás González runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 12. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

In brief

145 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

7 May 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Santiago González in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Anderson Brum in the eights

A performance of 8.78 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

Esteban de Lima gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Pablo López

Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Costly mistake from Santiago González

An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Santiago González knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.

Boardroom

93% of the income goes out in wages at Tacuarembo

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.

Match

Tacuarembo share the spoils with La Luz

A 1‑1 draw with La Luz leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.

Player ratings

Álex Perdomo leaves them behind him

Shots: 10. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.

Squad

Joaquín Moreira knocks on the manager’s door

“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Joaquín Moreira trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

In brief

144 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

30 Apr 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Anderson Brum

Defensive actions: 37. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Squad

Santiago Vargas keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Tacuarembo may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Market

Only the photograph left for Maximiliano Camargo

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Maximiliano Camargo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Tacuarembo the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Sebastián Píriz

Defensive actions: 24. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Squad

Pablo López in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Tacuarembo get the job done against Oriental

A 1‑0 win over Oriental, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Álex Perdomo

Marked 8.08 — 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.

Squad

Anderson Brum gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Nicolás González

Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

In brief

143 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

23 Apr 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Tempers go at Tacuarembo

Pablo López 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.

Player ratings

One of those days for Nicolás González

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.82, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Squad

Santiago González gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Match

Tacuarembo share the spoils with Artigas

A 1‑1 draw with Artigas leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.

Squad

Mateo Pisso knocks on the manager’s door

“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Mateo Pisso trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

Player ratings

Diego Méndez runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 13. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

In brief

142 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

16 Apr 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Ian López hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Tacuarembo can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Federico Sansone: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Tacuarembo have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Pablo López in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

A bad afternoon for Tacuarembo against Liverpool Montevideo

0‑1 to Liverpool Montevideo, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad

No hiding place for Mateo Pisso

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mateo Pisso, and the manager let it.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Nicolás González

Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

In brief

141 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

9 Apr 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

Pablo López leads the rout of Rentistas

3‑0, and Pablo López took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Tacuarembo tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.

Squad

Tempers go at Tacuarembo

Pablo López 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.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Sebastián Píriz

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 21 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Pablo López

Marked 9.24 — 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.

Player ratings

Ian López in the eights

A performance of 9.01 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Player ratings

One of those days for Diego Méndez

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.10, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Squad

No hiding place for Santiago Vargas

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Santiago Vargas, and the manager let it.

Squad

Diego Méndez is off the mark for Tacuarembo

The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.

Squad

Facundo Píriz asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

In brief

140 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

2 Apr 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Maximiliano Camargo is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Tacuarembo is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Match

4 matches without a win for Tacuarembo

The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Tacuarembo are no longer polite ones.

Squad

Tempers go at Tacuarembo

Esteban de Lima 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.

Match

A bad afternoon for Tacuarembo against Central Espanol

0‑2 to Central Espanol, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Esteban de Lima

“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.

Player ratings

Nicolás González runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

The month belongs to Anderson Brum

The award is a small thing with a heavy meaning: for four weeks nobody in this division did his job better. Tacuarembo have the trophy on a shelf and the player in the side.

Player ratings

Álex Perdomo never got going

3.99 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.

Boardroom

The numbers do not look good at Tacuarembo

Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.

In brief

139 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

26 Mar 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Tempers go at Tacuarembo

Pablo López 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.

Player ratings

One of those days for Anderson Brum

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.28, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Álex Perdomo

“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.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Nicolás González

Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Match

Tacuarembo share the spoils with Cerrito

A 1‑1 draw with Cerrito leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.

Squad

Esteban de Lima asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

In brief

138 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

19 Mar 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

Tacuarembo bow out of the cup

Boston River go through and Tacuarembo go home, 0‑1 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.

Market

Ian López puts it in writing

“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 Tacuarembo, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Tempers go at Tacuarembo

Esteban de Lima 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.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Pablo López

Marked 8.82 — 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.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Nicolás González

Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Mateo Pisso

“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.

Player ratings

One of those days for Diego Méndez

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.08, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Squad

Tacuarembo lose Carlos Araujo

27 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Squad

Santiago González lets one through his hands

A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.

In brief

137 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

12 Mar 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Santiago González keeps Tacuarembo in it on his own

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.

Squad

Tempers go at Tacuarembo

Pablo López 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.

Match

Tacuarembo find a way past Atenas

Atenas made Tacuarembo work for it, but the scoreboard read 3‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Player ratings

One of those days for Pablo López

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.93, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Player ratings

One of those days for Anderson Brum

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.88, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Diego Méndez

Marked 8.47 — 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.

Player ratings

Nicolás González in the eights

A performance of 8.46 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

Tacuarembo lose Joaquín Salinas

15 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Squad

Joaquín Nazar gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

In brief

136 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

5 Mar 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Santiago González: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Tacuarembo have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Market

Only the photograph left for Maximiliano Camargo

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Maximiliano Camargo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Tacuarembo the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Pablo López signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Pablo López and Tacuarembo agree another 2 years.

Squad

Pablo López in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

One of those days for Anderson Brum

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.23, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Match

Tacuarembo see off Danubio

Three points for Tacuarembo, 2‑1 the final word against Danubio in a contest settled by the finer margins.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Esteban de Lima

“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.

Player ratings

Diego Méndez in the eights

A performance of 8.45 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Boardroom

The numbers do not look good at Tacuarembo

Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.

In brief

135 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

26 Feb 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

The wait goes on for Tacuarembo

12 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.

The terraces

The ground has had enough

“We travel everywhere and we get this.” 7 of the 31 senior players heard it walking off, and the ones who did not hear it were not playing.

Squad

Tempers go at Tacuarembo

Pablo López 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.

Player ratings

Nicolás González runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Match

Rampla Juniors take the points off Tacuarembo

Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Squad

Santiago González gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Squad

Joaquín Nazar knocks on the manager’s door

“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Joaquín Nazar trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

Player ratings

Off the pace: Álex Perdomo

A mark of 5.56 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.

Player ratings

Santiago Vargas never got going

5.78 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.

In brief

134 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

19 Feb 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

The wait goes on for Tacuarembo

11 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.

Market

Ian López puts it in writing

“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 Tacuarembo, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Pablo López in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

One of those days for Álex Perdomo

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.16, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Squad

Tacuarembo lose Carlos Araujo

55 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Anderson Brum

“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.

In brief

133 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

12 Feb 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

No end in sight to Tacuarembo's wait for a win

10 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Tacuarembo has to find a result from somewhere.

Squad

Lucas López keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Tacuarembo may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Market

Agustin Cardozo comes home

The shirt still fits. Agustin Cardozo is back at Tacuarembo, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.

Market

Agustin Cardozo comes home

The shirt still fits. Agustin Cardozo is back at Tacuarembo, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.

Market

As if he never left: Jonathan Diaz returns

Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Jonathan Diaz is a Tacuarembo player again, and the town has its story of the summer.

Market

Eduardo Godoy comes home

The shirt still fits. Eduardo Godoy is back at Tacuarembo, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.

Squad

Tempers go at Tacuarembo

Facundo Píriz 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.

Player ratings

Nicolás González in the eights

A performance of 8.77 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

No hiding place for Facundo Píriz

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Facundo Píriz, and the manager let it.

In brief

132 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

5 Feb 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Tomás Regina says Tacuarembo went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Market

Only the photograph left for Maximiliano Camargo

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Maximiliano Camargo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Tacuarembo the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Pablo López in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Tacuarembo lose Joaquín Salinas

52 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Squad

Tacuarembo lose Francisco Osorio

41 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Boardroom

The numbers do not look good at Tacuarembo

Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.

In brief

131 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

29 Jan 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Every point is an argument now for Tacuarembo

Position 12 and 24 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.

Squad

Anderson Brum: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Tacuarembo have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Market

Çağlar Çelenk puts it in writing

“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 Tacuarembo, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Mateo Pisso in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Mateo Pisso gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Squad

Esteban de Lima knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Tacuarembo, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

130 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

22 Jan 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

The silence upstairs is getting loud at Tacuarembo

Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.

Market

Nahuel Píriz puts it in writing

“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 Tacuarembo, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Pablo López in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

In brief

129 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

15 Jan 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Ian López asks to leave Tacuarembo

“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.

Market

Only the photograph left for Çağlar Çelenk

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Çağlar Çelenk will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Tacuarembo the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Tempers go at Tacuarembo

Pablo López 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.

In brief

128 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

8 Jan 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Esteban de Lima asks to leave Tacuarembo

“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.

Market

Maximiliano Camargo is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Tacuarembo is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Federico Sansone signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Federico Sansone commits to Tacuarembo for another 4 years.

Squad

Pablo López in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tacuarembo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

No hiding place for Joaquín Nazar

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Joaquín Nazar, and the manager let it.

Squad

Somebody is after Facundo Píriz’s shirt

A new face in his position, and Facundo Píriz suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Tacuarembo have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.

In brief

127 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

1 Jan 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Tacuarembo are in real trouble now

Position 12, 24 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.

Squad

The season belongs to Diego Méndez

An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Tacuarembo have had the benefit of it.

Squad

Tempers go at Tacuarembo

Pablo López 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.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Anderson Brum

“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.

Market

Tacuarembo buy the years ahead of Benicio Gómez

He is 17, and the scouting reports agree on the only line that matters: the ceiling. Signings like this are lottery tickets written by professionals.

Squad

Joaquín Nazar has had enough of the bench

“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 Tacuarembo will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.

In brief

126 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

25 Dec 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

Pressure builds in the Tacuarembo boardroom

The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.

Market

Denys Holub hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Tacuarembo can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Tempers go at Tacuarembo

Federico Sansone 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.

In brief

125 Edition

The Tacuarembo Courier

18 Dec 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Çağlar Çelenk hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Tacuarembo can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Çağlar Çelenk has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Tacuarembo they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Tempers go at Tacuarembo

Pablo López 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.

In brief