From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad2 Nov 2026
The medical room confirms 41 days on the sidelines for Yohan Cumaná, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad2 Nov 2026
A falling-out at UCV
Carlos Cermeño and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad2 Nov 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Pedro Sosa commits to UCV for another 1 years.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
“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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
A row about effort at UCV
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Matías Ávila was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market2 Nov 2026
Experience through the door at UCV
Pedro Sosa arrives at 35 with nothing left to prove and plenty left to pass on. Legs are a young man's currency; knowing where to stand never ages.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad26 Oct 2026
A row about effort at UCV
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Francisco Solé was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Tempers go at UCV
Cristhian Riveros was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Too much change too quickly at UCV
13 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad19 Oct 2026
Tempers go at UCV
Carlos Cermeño 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.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Jean Carlos Polo is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Words at UCV training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Francisco Solé is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad12 Oct 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Francisco Solé and UCV agree another 3 years.
Squad12 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at UCV this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
“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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad5 Oct 2026
The medical room confirms 70 days on the sidelines for Yohan Cumaná, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Francisco Solé falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Tempers go at UCV
Juan Manuel Cuesta was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Yeiber Murillo, and the manager let it.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at UCV, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad5 Oct 2026
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Luis Uliambre has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market28 Sep 2026
“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.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
“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.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Words exchanged at UCV
Carlos Cermeño and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad28 Sep 2026
A row about effort at UCV
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Francisco Solé was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Too much change too quickly at UCV
12 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
Adrián Martínez 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad21 Sep 2026
Tempers go at UCV
Carlos Cermeño 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.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Matías Ávila falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad21 Sep 2026
No place for Claudio Burgos in the new shape
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation UCV are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at UCV, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
Daniel De Sousa has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at UCV will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Market21 Sep 2026
“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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Transfer targets14 Sep 2026
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: another club keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Francisco Solé falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
“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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
A falling-out at UCV
Cristhian Riveros and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad14 Sep 2026
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation UCV are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
Rubén Ramírez has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at UCV will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Market14 Sep 2026
“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.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Francisco Solé has written the date down.
Squad14 Sep 2026
A new face in his position, and Juan Camilo Zapata suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. UCV have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
In brief
-
Market
UCV shop where it costs nothing
-
The dugout
The manager plants his flag on Ferlys García
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad7 Sep 2026
A falling-out at UCV
Carlos Cermeño and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Francisco Solé falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
“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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Luis Uliambre commits to UCV for another 2 years.
Squad7 Sep 2026
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
Yohan Cumaná 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.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
Ferlys García has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at UCV will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Francisco Solé has written the date down.
Market7 Sep 2026
“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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 57. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match26 Aug 2026
The small margins put UCV out
Out, 1‑2 to Monagas, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
Market31 Aug 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what UCV can pretend not to have heard.
Squad31 Aug 2026
6 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at UCV
Carlos Cermeño and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
“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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Too much change too quickly at UCV
9 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑2 defeat, delivered by Daniel Casseres to a room that had heard them before.
Squad31 Aug 2026
A row about effort at UCV
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Williams Velásquez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match19 Aug 2026
UCV through in the cup
A 1‑0 win over Rayo Zuliano, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 23. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words at UCV training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Carlos Cermeño is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad24 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at UCV this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Marked 7.49. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
The dugout24 Aug 2026
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 1‑0, already talking about the next one.
Squad24 Aug 2026
The formation has left Gabriel Monjes behind
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. UCV will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
The dugout24 Aug 2026
Nobody at UCV is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
The dugout24 Aug 2026
Daniel De Sousa has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at UCV will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 37. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Match12 Aug 2026
UCV march on in the cup
Trujillanos are out and UCV go through, 1‑0 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.
Market17 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad17 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at UCV this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom17 Aug 2026
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
The terraces17 Aug 2026
At 21 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Squad17 Aug 2026
A row about effort at UCV
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Francisco Solé was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Nobody on the pitch touched Ferlys García
7.76, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. UCV had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 1‑0, Daniel Casseres could afford to be generous.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad10 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at UCV
Carlos Cermeño and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Market10 Aug 2026
One of our own: Juan Rondon joins the UCV first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Juan Rondon is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Victor Gonzalez has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. David Cordova has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Jose Savarino has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Squad10 Aug 2026
A row about effort at UCV
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Williams Velásquez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad3 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Juan Camilo Zapata commits to UCV for another 2 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Carlos Cermeño falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Tempers go at UCV
Juan Manuel Cuesta 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.