“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 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 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.
“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.
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.
“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.
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.
“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.
10 days since the seat came open, a list of names doing the rounds, and nobody has signed anything. Every week this drags on the shortlist gets shorter.
“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.
Four paragraphs on the club website, none of them about football. The board thanked him, wished him well, and had the search under way before the page went up.
“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 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.
“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 6 appearances in 10 say he has earned the hearing.
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.
“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.
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.
“I did not go to Deportes Tolima to sit and watch. I want to come back to Union Magdalena and fight for my place.” 1 appearances in 8 matches say the rest.
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.
“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 11 appearances in 33 say he has earned the hearing.
“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 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.
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.
“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.
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.
“I did not go to Fortaleza CEIF to sit and watch. I want to come back to Union Magdalena and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 32 matches say the rest.
“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 new face in his position, and Andrés Carreño suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Union Magdalena have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
Union Magdalena spent the window trying to move Kevin Salazar 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.
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. José Mercado has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
“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.
11 days since the seat came open, a list of names doing the rounds, and nobody has signed anything. Every week this drags on the shortlist gets shorter.
“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.
“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.
Alianza Petrolera pay $120.0K, 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.
“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.
35 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.
“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.
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. David Mojica knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
34 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.
“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 5 appearances in 25 say he has earned the hearing.
33 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.
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.
“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.
“I did not go to Fortaleza CEIF to sit and watch. I want to come back to Union Magdalena and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 24 matches say the rest.
Leyner Liñan 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.
32 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.
“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.
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Duván Córdoba knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
31 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.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Hernán Luna will call it something else in private.
30 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.
“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.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Juan Diego Giraldo will call it something else in private.
29 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.
“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.
28 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.
“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 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.
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.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Luis Becerra and Union Magdalena agree another 1 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
“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.
“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 0 appearances in 15 say he has earned the hearing.
“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 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.
In brief
SquadThe selectors could not leave Daniel Mera out
The terracesThe press have found their man in Daniel Mera
“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.
Envigado go through and Union Magdalena 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.
“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.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
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.
17 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.
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Union Magdalena have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
“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.
16 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.
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.
14 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.
“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.
“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 0 appearances in 6 say he has earned the hearing.
“Ask me in the summer. I will know before anybody else does.” He is 35 with 0 appearances behind him, and Union Magdalena have to plan for both answers.
13 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
Every debut is a small story about the future: Duván Córdoba, 18 years old, off the academy pitches and into the first team. The parents in the stand will keep the programme.
In brief
SquadJimmy Congo unhappy with how he is being used
“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.
“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 want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Union Magdalena hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
The deal that would have taken Juan Camilo Romero to Alianza Petrolera 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.
The language is arriving, the jokes are landing, and there is somebody at the next peg to talk to. None of it appears in a scouting report and all of it shows up on the pitch.
The arithmetic ran out, and everybody could see it coming from a distance. The hard summer starts now, and next season's fixtures will be full of unfamiliar names.
“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.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Union Magdalena hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Duván Córdoba is 18, 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.
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.
“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 easiest signature of my career.” Mateo Guerrero and Union Magdalena agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
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.
“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 name of Cristian Iguarán has come up in conversations Union Magdalena were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Union Magdalena has been clear about where José Cabrera stands, which is more than many ever get.
“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.
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.
“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.
“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.
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Jairo Pimienta has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
“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.
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 list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Cristian Iguarán may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Víctor Cabezas plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.
12 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.
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
Every debut is a small story about the future: Luis Narváez, 20 years old, off the academy pitches and into the first team. The parents in the stand will keep the programme.
11 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.
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.
10 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.
“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.
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Union Magdalena have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
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.
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.
“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 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.
At 29 he has made the position his own, and the man he took it from has to find something to say about it. Union Magdalena have a decision that made itself.
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Union Magdalena have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
48 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.
“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.