2 behind and going nowhere, until Leonardo Sinisterra decided otherwise. Barranquilla had done the hard part and then watched it come apart, and the noise at the final whistle was the sort a ground keeps.
Two goals and a mark of 8.78 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Universitario Popayan 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 Universitario Popayan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Styven Monsalve is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout24 May 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Santiago Murillo kept it short after the 3‑2 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
Somebody watched every match in the division at the weekend and decided he was the best thing in any of them. A small honour, and most careers end without one.
In brief
The dugoutPablo Sanchez has become a man the manager trusts
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Leonardo Sinisterra provided it, and the 9.42 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 18 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.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 3‑1, Santiago Murillo could afford to be generous.
It is a small honour and it is not nothing: somebody watched every match in the division and decided that Leonardo Sinisterra was the best thing in any of them.
Santiago Gómez 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 dugout10 May 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑2 Santiago Murillo left the room before anybody could ask which.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Styven Monsalve was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Oscar Montero is on it.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Leones will want this one forgotten quickly: 4‑1, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Universitario Popayan were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Santiago Murillo has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Universitario Popayan is running low.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Francisco Lopez has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Marked 8.22. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Universitario Popayan.
Santiago Gómez 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.
Leonardo Sinisterra had done his part in building a 3-goal cushion. What happened after that was collective, and Depor were allowed back into a match that had been finished with.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Universitario Popayan 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 Universitario Popayan, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Santiago Murillo after the 4‑4 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Beaten 4 times, with 0 saves for company. Goalkeepers carry these scorelines on their record whoever actually caused them, which is the quiet injustice of the job.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Universitario Popayan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He won it back and then made something of it, which is two jobs and the reason the scoreline looks the way it does. 10 combined actions and a mark of 6.84, and not one of them will make a highlights package.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Santiago Murillo left the room before anybody could ask which.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Styven Monsalve 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.
One weekend, judged against everybody else's. Wilmar Gonzalez has come out on top of it, and for most footballers a weekly award is the only silverware a career ever produces.
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Two goals and a mark of 8.60 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Gabriel Sanchez 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: Wilmar Gonzalez. 4‑2 against Valledupar, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Marked 6.78 on 12 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
He is 21 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Both clubs in the mire, one fixture between them, and a ground that will be louder and more frightened than at any point in the season. Universitario Popayan know what is at stake and so does everybody in the away end.
Position 12 and 7 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Gabriel Sanchez 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.
At 21 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Universitario Popayan and Fortaleza CEIF, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 2‑4, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Rafael Garcia is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
Squad5 Apr 2027
A place in the month's best eleven for Oscar Hurtado
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Oscar Hurtado has come out of that comparison in the side, and Universitario Popayan have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Universitario Popayan may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Leonardo Sinisterra. 1‑0 against Alianza Petrolera, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Universitario Popayan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Santiago Murillo, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Universitario Popayan told Jorge Zapata something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
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 Universitario Popayan that is a harder question to answer.
Ninety minutes of very little, and then everything at once. The winner arrived in the 85th, and Bogota spent what remained of the match appealing to the referee rather than chasing the ball.
9 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Bogota were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Francisco Lopez has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Santiago Gómez 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 7.80 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Universitario Popayan had the best player on the pitch.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Santiago Murillo, on a 2‑1 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
Something was said to David Montoya and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
Somebody else is better right now than David Montoya
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
9 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Gabriel Sanchez 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.
Nobody at Universitario Popayan 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 13 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
0‑3 to Barranquilla, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
2 in front and in complete control, and it finished with Junior the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that Universitario Popayan will enjoy reviewing.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 18 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.
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
“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 Universitario Popayan, 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 Universitario Popayan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 7.19 on 12 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
Goalkeepers do not get to make mistakes; they get to make goals. He made one, he knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Oscar Montero's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Universitario Popayan can pretend not to have heard.
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Gabriel Sanchez 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 pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Fabian Giraldo, and the manager let it.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
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 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Santiago Murillo to a room that had heard them before.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Styven Monsalve was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Universitario Popayan told Nicolas Martinez something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
In brief
The dugoutOscar Hurtado knocks on the manager’s door
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Universitario Popayan can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
Up for the corner, and Carlos Moreno delivers — 7.96
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Carlos Moreno scored, was marked 7.96, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Gabriel Sanchez 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.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 4 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Two goals and a mark of 8.39 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Everything agreed with Once Caldas, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Oscar Montero is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Universitario Popayan has been clear about where Leonardo Sinisterra stands, which is more than many ever get.
Minute 94, against Depor, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
9 combined actions and 6.79. The job he did is the one that shows up as other people looking good, and the only reliable way to notice it is to watch what happens on the afternoons he is missing.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Universitario Popayan and Tigres in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Oscar Montero 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Francisco Lopez has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Jorge Sanchez has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Santiago Diaz has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Hugo Barrios is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Miguel Rangel
Player ratingsThe game went through Kevin Lopez — 6.69
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Llaneros is saying, and nobody at Universitario Popayan is enjoying the guessing.
Gabriel Sanchez 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.
Universitario Popayan have made the call to Jaguares. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
In brief
The dugoutDiego Perez knocks on the manager’s door
Gabriel Sanchez 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.
At 18 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Leonardo Sinisterra has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Deportivo Cali keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
At 21 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Santiago Gómez 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.
The clubs have shaken hands with Deportivo Cali; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Jaguares keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
At 17 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something 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 Universitario Popayan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Universitario Popayan have made the call to Envigado. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
A new face in his position, and David Montoya suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Universitario Popayan have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
Universitario Popayan asked and Llaneros said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Santiago Gómez 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.
Universitario Popayan have made the call to Jaguares. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Universitario Popayan asked and Independiente Medellin said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Santiago Gómez 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.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Universitario Popayan, another week without a signature from David Montoya.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kevin Mejia was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A new face in his position and a shirt he thought he owned suddenly up for discussion. Universitario Popayan have promised nothing, which is what clubs promise at this stage.
“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 Universitario Popayan, and it is not being withdrawn.
America de Cali will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Cristian Berrio has pre-agreed a move to Universitario Popayan, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
A loan enquiry to Independiente Medellin: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Universitario Popayan have made the call to Llaneros. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Universitario Popayan will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
The registration window is open and the phone has started. Between now and the deadline this club will be linked with forty players and sign three, which is the usual ratio.
It will be explained as a change for the team and it may even be one. Nobody who has worn one believes that, and neither does the man who has just had it taken away.
At 17 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Universitario Popayan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Gabriel Sanchez 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.” Santiago Gómez and Universitario Popayan agree another 3 years.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Kevin Mejia 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.
Gabriel Sanchez and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Victor Valencia 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.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Universitario Popayan, another week without a signature from Leonardo Sinisterra.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Juanito Alfonso and Universitario Popayan agree another 1 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Francisco Lopez 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kevin Mejia was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Judge me on him.” Managers do not say that kind of thing by accident — it moves the pressure from Kevin Mejia’s shoulders onto his own, and both of them know it.
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.
Kevin Mejia 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 easiest signature of my career.” Pablo Sanchez and Universitario Popayan agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
At 17 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something 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 Universitario Popayan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Gabriel Sanchez 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.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Pablo Sanchez is 20, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Gabriel Sanchez 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 easiest signature of my career.” Diego Perez and Universitario Popayan agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kevin Mejia 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.
At 17 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
“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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Kevin Mejia 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.
Diego Perez 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.
It will be explained as a change for the team and it may even be one. Nobody who has worn one believes that, and neither does the man who has just had it taken away.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kevin Mejia 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.
Universitario Popayan have let the market know Rodrygo Tavares can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
Gabriel Sanchez and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Victor Valencia 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.
“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 dugout17 Aug 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑2 Santiago Murillo left the room before anybody could ask which.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Miguel Rangel and Universitario Popayan agree another 3 years.
Gabriel Sanchez was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Oscar Montero 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.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Miguel Rangel
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Universitario Popayan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It is a strip of cloth and it decides nothing on a Saturday. It still tells the dressing room exactly whose opinion the manager values, which is the whole point of it.