Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Andrés Rivera will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Union Magdalena the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Andrés Carreño and Union Magdalena agree another 4 years.
Bernardo Cerezo 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 clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Union Magdalena is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Bernardo Cerezo 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Union Magdalena they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Union Magdalena they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Jesús Espinosa and Union Magdalena agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Bernardo Cerezo 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 clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Union Magdalena is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Francisco Montes and Union Magdalena agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Bernardo Cerezo 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Union Magdalena they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Bernardo Cerezo 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Union Magdalena they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Bernardo Cerezo 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 clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Union Magdalena is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Pablo Latorre and Union Magdalena agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Bernardo Cerezo 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Union Magdalena they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Union Magdalena have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Union Magdalena is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Bernardo Cerezo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
He is doing things on a Saturday afternoon that nobody around him can answer, which is flattering for about one season and a problem after that. Union Magdalena will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
Union Magdalena spent the window trying to move Bernardo Cerezo on and nobody came. He trains with a squad that has already told him he is not part of it, and both sides now wait for the next one.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Union Magdalena is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The deal that would have taken Humberto Acevedo to Universitario Popayan has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Union Magdalena with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Franco Bigo trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“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 Union Magdalena, and it is not being withdrawn.
Bernardo Cerezo 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 fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Deportivo Pereira moved on, Jairo Pimienta reports back to Union Magdalena, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Union Magdalena they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“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 Union Magdalena, and it is not being withdrawn.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Sergio Vergara and Union Magdalena agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Union Magdalena have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Union Magdalena can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Jhon Ibargüen will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Union Magdalena the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Sergio Vergara and Union Magdalena agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Bernardo Cerezo 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Union Magdalena can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Kleber Díaz will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Union Magdalena the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Juan Diego Giraldo 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Juan Blas Samán and Union Magdalena agree another 4 years.
1 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Union Magdalena could ask drops and the wages Humberto Acevedo can ask rise.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Union Magdalena they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Bernardo Cerezo 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Union Magdalena they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Union Magdalena, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Union Magdalena has been clear about where Jairo Pimienta stands, which is more than many ever get.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Union Magdalena have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Bernardo Cerezo 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 manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Gabriel Marín has his answer from Union Magdalena; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Union Magdalena is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Bernardo Cerezo 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.
Marked 8.89 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.17 — 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.
Bernardo Cerezo 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.
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.
Juan Diego Giraldo 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Gerlen Oviedo and Union Magdalena agree another 4 years.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Kleber Díaz will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Union Magdalena the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Bernardo Cerezo 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Didier Cabrera and Union Magdalena agree another 3 years.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.83 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 10.00 — 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.
Marked 8.94 — 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.
Marked 8.27 — 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.
Sergio Vergara 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.
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Humberto Acevedo knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Kleber Díaz will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Union Magdalena the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Sergio Vergara 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.
Marked 9.22 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Marked 9.03 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 9.04 — 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.
Marked 8.91 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Santiago Franco and Union Magdalena agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Position 3, 12 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Union Magdalena is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.31 — 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.
2 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.
Sergio Vergara 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.
Marked 8.29 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Nicolás Iachetti. 2‑1 against Tigres, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Sergio Vergara 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Lionel Leguizamón and Union Magdalena agree another 4 years.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Union Magdalena is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.83 — 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.
Shots: 12. 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.
Juan Diego Giraldo 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.
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.
Bernardo Cerezo 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.
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Jefferson Medina is a Union Magdalena player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
The shirt still fits. Gustavo Mejia is back at Union Magdalena, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
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.
The shirt still fits. Freddy Mina is back at Union Magdalena, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Sergio Vergara 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.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at Union Magdalena that is a harder question to answer.
In brief
MarketThe window shut and Bernardo Cerezo is still in the building
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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Kleber Díaz will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Union Magdalena the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Nicolás Iachetti and Union Magdalena agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Ask me in the summer. I will know before anybody else does.” He is 34 with 36 appearances behind him, and Union Magdalena have to plan for both answers.
Sergio Vergara was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Union Magdalena has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
Union Magdalena spent the window trying to move Hugo Palacios on and nobody came. He trains with a squad that has already told him he is not part of it, and both sides now wait for the next one.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Union Magdalena can pretend not to have heard.
Leandro Lozano 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.
“I did not go to Real Santander to sit and watch. I want to come back to Union Magdalena and fight for my place.” 1 appearances in 27 matches say the rest.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Union Magdalena, and 17 appearances in 51 say he has earned the hearing.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Union Magdalena is running low.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Union Magdalena they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Leandro Lozano 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.
Junior paid $270.0K and Union Magdalena took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
There is a level at which a footballer stops being tested and starts being contained, and he reached it some time ago. Union Magdalena know it, and so does everybody who watches him.
Sergio Vergara is 34 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Hugo Palacios keeps the shirt for now, at Union Magdalena's convenience rather than his own.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Union Magdalena can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
The offer from Once Caldas for Jhoao Rodríguez was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
“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 Union Magdalena, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Union Magdalena has been clear about where Bernardo Cerezo stands, which is more than many ever get.
“I watch every Union Magdalena game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Atletico Bucaramanga runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Jhoao Rodríguez 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Union Magdalena have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Juan Sebastián Toncel and Union Magdalena agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Kleber Díaz will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Union Magdalena the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Leandro Lozano 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.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Union Magdalena, and 17 appearances in 46 say he has earned the hearing.
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. David Mejia has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Union Magdalena, and 3 appearances in 17 say he has earned the hearing.
The captaincy has been taken off Néider Barona. Union Magdalena will call it a decision about the team; a dressing room reads it as a verdict on a man.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Bernardo Cerezo trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Position 3, 32 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Leandro Lozano 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Union Magdalena have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Andrés Rivera trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Union Magdalena is running low.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Kleber Díaz will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Union Magdalena the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Leandro Lozano 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.
“I did not go to Real Santander to sit and watch. I want to come back to Union Magdalena and fight for my place.” 1 appearances in 17 matches say the rest.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I watch every Union Magdalena game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Atletico Bucaramanga runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. David Mejia has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Néider Barona and Union Magdalena agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Leandro Lozano was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Union Magdalena, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The shrug has gone, the language is coming, and he now argues in training like somebody who expects to be here next year. Half a signing's value is this and none of it appears on a fee.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Union Magdalena is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Jhoao Rodríguez 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.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Union Magdalena, and 1 appearances in 13 say he has earned the hearing.
3 goals in 18 games at Real Cartagena — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Union Magdalena updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Leandro Lozano 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.
“I watch every Union Magdalena game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Atletico Bucaramanga runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. David Mejia has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Lionel Leguizamón is 19, and Union Magdalena have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
Leandro Lozano 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Union Magdalena know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Union Magdalena is running low.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Union Magdalena is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Juan Sebastián Toncel and Union Magdalena agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Union Magdalena, and 1 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
In brief
SquadFelipe Longo asks for a word with the manager
Leandro Lozano 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.
“I did not go to Atletico Bucaramanga to sit and watch. I want to come back to Union Magdalena and fight for my place.” 1 appearances in 5 matches say the rest.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Wiston Segrera and Union Magdalena agree another 4 years.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Union Magdalena, and 17 appearances in 32 say he has earned the hearing.
“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 Union Magdalena will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Jhoao Rodríguez 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Union Magdalena know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
In brief
MarketThe window shut and Hugo Palacios is still in the building
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Union Magdalena is running low.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Kleber Díaz will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Union Magdalena the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Union Magdalena, and 1 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
He is 20, and nobody at Union Magdalena signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Union Magdalena, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“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.
Market24 Jul 2028
The window shut and Jhoao Rodríguez is still in the building
Union Magdalena spent a month trying to move him and nobody rang back. He trains with a squad that has told him where he stands, and both sides start counting down to the next one.
“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 Union Magdalena, and it is not being withdrawn.
Leandro Lozano 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.
“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 Union Magdalena, and it is not being withdrawn.
Position 3, 32 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Union Magdalena can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
“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 Union Magdalena, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Nicolás Torres will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Union Magdalena the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Jhoao Rodríguez was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Union Magdalena, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“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 Union Magdalena, and it is not being withdrawn.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Union Magdalena is running low.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Kleber Díaz will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Union Magdalena the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Janeth Alemán has his answer from Union Magdalena; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
3 goals in 15 games at Real Cartagena — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Union Magdalena updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
The offer from Barranquilla for Jairo Pimienta was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Leandro Lozano was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
He 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Union Magdalena can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Union Magdalena can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Union Magdalena have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Nicolás Torres will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Union Magdalena the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Leandro Lozano 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Union Magdalena have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Union Magdalena is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Union Magdalena can pretend not to have heard.
Leandro Lozano 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.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Bernardo Cerezo will call it something else in private.
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.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Union Magdalena, and 4 appearances in 21 say he has earned the hearing.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 29 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
2 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.
Deportivo Cali go through and Union Magdalena go home, 0‑0 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Nicolás Torres will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Union Magdalena the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Jhoao Rodríguez 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.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Union Magdalena is running low.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Kleber Díaz will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Union Magdalena the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.22 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Marked 8.01 — 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Union Magdalena can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Union Magdalena have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
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.
Leandro Lozano 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Andrés Carreño. 2‑0 against Valledupar, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
“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 Union Magdalena, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Union Magdalena, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Union Magdalena can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Union Magdalena have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Nicolás Torres will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Union Magdalena the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Leandro Lozano 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.
Marked 8.07 — 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Ruyery Blanco trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
In brief
Loan watchThe goals keep arriving from Gabriel Marín’s exile
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Union Magdalena can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Union Magdalena have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Union Magdalena is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.96 — 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.
“I watch every Union Magdalena game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Real Cartagena runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 12 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
“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 Union Magdalena, and it is not being withdrawn.
Jhoao Rodríguez 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.
A 2‑0 win over Deportes Quindio, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
“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 Union Magdalena, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.10 — 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.
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Víctor Cabezas knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Union Magdalena can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Union Magdalena they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Jhoao Rodríguez 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 crowd waited for a goal that never came. Bogota defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Kleber Díaz will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Union Magdalena the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Jean Carlos Becerra and Union Magdalena agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Leandro Lozano trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Felipe Longo: 2 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
Leandro Lozano was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Leandro Lozano 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 club looked outside for a month, found nothing it preferred, and handed the job to the man who had been doing it anyway. He knows the building; now he has to prove he knows the rest.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Union Magdalena they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.38 — 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.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Union Magdalena, and 2 appearances in 6 say he has earned the hearing.
15 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Union Magdalena has to find a result from somewhere.
Jhoao Rodríguez 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.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Union Magdalena, and 1 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Andrés Rivera keeps the shirt for now, at Union Magdalena's convenience rather than his own.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Freddy Bacca is a Union Magdalena player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
The shirt still fits. Luis Ospina is back at Union Magdalena, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
The shirt still fits. Alfredo Cordoba is back at Union Magdalena, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Leandro Lozano 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Union Magdalena they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
9 days with the chair empty, a list of names that grows and shrinks by the day, and not one signature on anything. Every week that passes takes the best candidates off it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Union Magdalena, and both men came out saying it was fine.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Union Magdalena has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
It is arithmetic now, and the arithmetic is done. A summer of hard questions starts early at Union Magdalena, and next season's fixture list reads very differently.
“Somebody has to pick the team on Saturday, and this week that is me.” An interim appointment with no promises attached, which is how most of them start.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Union Magdalena heard it as anything else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The table has started to be checked before the results are in, and that is always the tell. Nobody at Union Magdalena says the word out loud, and everybody in the building is thinking it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Bernardo Cerezo keeps the shirt for now, at Union Magdalena's convenience rather than his own.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Union Magdalena, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“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 Union Magdalena, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I watch every Union Magdalena game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Bogota runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
“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 Union Magdalena, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Union Magdalena is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Jhoao Rodríguez was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Union Magdalena, and both men came out saying it was fine.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Union Magdalena would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.