Edwuin Pernía 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 thought about how hard another man trains, and Anthonys Matos was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Zamora 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Zamora can pretend not to have heard.
Edwuin Pernía 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.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Cristian Díaz 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.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
“Judge me on him.” Managers do not say that kind of thing by accident — it moves the pressure from Beycker Velásquez’s shoulders onto his own, and both of them know it.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Cristian Díaz will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Zamora the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Wílder Viera 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.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Words at Zamora training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Anthonys Matos 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.
Nobody at Zamora 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.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Zamora has been clear about where Santiago Gómez stands, which is more than many ever get.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Stiven Valencia will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Zamora the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Néstor Jiménez and Zamora agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Words at Zamora training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Anthonys Matos 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.
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 Cristian Díaz is on it.
“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 Zamora, and it is not being withdrawn.
Edwuin Pernía 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 thought about how hard another man trains, and Anthonys Matos 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 Néstor Jiménez is on it.
“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 Zamora, and it is not being withdrawn.
Octavio Ontivero and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Words at Zamora training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Anthonys Matos 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.
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 Antony Trujillo is on it.
Beycker Velásquez has done the arithmetic and does not like the answer. Nothing corrodes a squad faster, and no club has ever solved it by explaining the wage structure to a footballer.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Zamora they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Octavio Ontivero 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 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.
“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 Zamora, and 0 appearances in 14 say he has earned the hearing.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Zamora is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Edwuin Pernía and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Words at Zamora training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Wílder Viera 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 36, 3 points below where he was, and a body that has started charging interest. It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph on this page.
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 Cristian Díaz is on it.
“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 Zamora, and it is not being withdrawn.
Edwuin Pernía 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 thought about how hard another man trains, and Anthonys Matos 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 Néstor Jiménez is on it.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Zamora have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Anthony Uribe 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.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Edwuin Pernía had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
“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 Zamora, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Cristian Díaz will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Zamora the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Zamora 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 Zamora this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Anthonys Matos was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I did not go to Deportivo La Guaira to sit and watch. I want to come back to Zamora and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 10 matches say the rest.
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 Richard Celis is on it.
In brief
The dugoutCésar Urpín knocks on the manager’s door
The name of Edwuin Pernía has come up in conversations Zamora were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Zamora they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
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.
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 Cristian Díaz is on 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 Zamora this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Anthonys Matos was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Anthony Uribe trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
In brief
The dugoutNéstor Jiménez has become a man the manager trusts
Octavio Ontivero and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Words at Zamora training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Anthonys Matos 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 Zamora has been clear about where Brayan Rodríguez stands, which is more than many ever get.
“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 Zamora, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Zamora 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 Zamora this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
“I watch every Zamora game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Deportivo La Guaira runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
He is doing things every Saturday that nobody around him can answer. It is flattering for a season and a problem after that, and Zamora know which stage they are at.
The award is a small thing with a heavy meaning: for four weeks nobody in this division did his job better. Zamora have the trophy on a shelf and the player in the side.
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 Richard Celis is on it.
Mineros de Guayana go through and Zamora 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.
Position 11 on 25 points. Every season is a story and this is the last line of it, and now the club has three months to decide what the next one is about.
Two goals and a mark of 9.24 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The 86th minute, half the ground already edging towards the exits, and Edwuin Pernía decided nobody was going anywhere. Portuguesa had no time left to answer.
The offer from Rayo Zuliano for Erickson Gallardo 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.
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Isaí Valladares reports back to Zamora with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Stiven Valencia will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Zamora the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Boardroom26 Jul 2027
Zamora close the window on a squad of their own making
3 in and 4 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
“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 Zamora, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings19 Jul 2027
A brace, and Edwuin Pernía takes the afternoon — 9.06
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Edwuin Pernía provided it, and the 9.06 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Transfer targets19 Jul 2027
$81.0K settles it between the clubs for Junior Colina
Rayo Zuliano have accepted the money. What Zamora do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
The name of Erickson Gallardo has come up in conversations Zamora were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Edwuin Pernía 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.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Words at Zamora training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Anthonys Matos 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 know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Portuguesa had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Real Frontera waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Zamora is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
The offer from Deportivo Tachira for Isaí Valladares 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.
The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Marco Bustillo was one of the reasons people came, and $500.0K does not replace that by itself.
The deal that would have taken José Barragán to Cienciano has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Zamora with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
Edwuin Pernía 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 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. River Plate have kept their man, and Zamora go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
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.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Zamora people have started saying his name in the past tense.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Zamora can pretend not to have heard.
The offer from Trujillanos for José Barragán 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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Zamora 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 Zamora this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Zamora have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Cristian Díaz will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Zamora the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The fee is $150.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Marítimo de La Guaira drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Anthonys Matos was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Zamora can pretend not to have heard.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Zamora have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Two goals and a mark of 8.74 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Zamora is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Sergio Sulbarán scored, was marked 6.98, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Zamora have done the hard part with Marítimo de La Guaira, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Zamora can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Zamora people have started saying his name in the past tense.
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Player ratings14 Jun 2027
A brace, and Edwuin Pernía takes the afternoon — 8.85
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Edwuin Pernía provided it, and the 8.85 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
The offer went to Marítimo de La Guaira this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Edwuin Pernía 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.
Add another name to the list: Atlético El Vigía have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Stiven Valencia. The answer from Zamora has not changed — yet.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Anthonys Matos was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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 Zamora, and it is not being withdrawn.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Zamora have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Isaac Ramírez will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Zamora 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 Zamora 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 Zamora can pretend not to have heard.
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Anthonys Matos was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The new man at Zamora has worked with César Urpín before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of 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 Zamora can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Zamora is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Edwuin Pernía 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 thought about how hard another man trains, and Anthonys Matos was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The new man at Zamora has worked with César Urpín before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Oscar Moreno after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
In brief
The dugoutSomebody else is better right now than César Urpín
1 for Arlés Flores, marked 7.72, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
Edwuin Pernía 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.
Squad17 May 2027
Words at Zamora training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Anthonys Matos 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 new man at Zamora has worked with César Urpín before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Oscar Moreno after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Deportivo La Guaira in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Jean Paúl Madera obliged against Rayo Zuliano. 1‑0 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is Zamora.
Two goals and a mark of 8.53 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Isaac Ramírez will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Zamora the goodbyes have quietly begun.
6 goals in one match, Richard Celis on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Zamora and Deportivo Tachira.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Anthonys Matos was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
1 for Sergio Sulbarán, marked 7.83, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Anthonys Matos was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
César Urpín 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 new man at Zamora has worked with César Urpín before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Oscar Moreno after 1‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Beycker Velásquez has come out of that comparison in the side, and Zamora have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
Two goals and a mark of 8.48 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Zamora is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Edwuin Pernía 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.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Sergio Sulbarán, and the manager let it.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
Edwuin Pernía was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.60. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
A brace, and Richard Celis takes the afternoon — 8.52
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Richard Celis provided it, and the 8.52 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Edwuin Pernía 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 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Sergio Sulbarán trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Zamora they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Edwuin Pernía and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Words at Zamora training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Anthonys Matos 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.
200 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.18, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
The dugout12 Apr 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.” Oscar Moreno, on a 4‑1 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
A brace, and Edwuin Pernía takes the afternoon — 8.87
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Edwuin Pernía provided it, and the 8.87 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zamora this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Stiven Valencia was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It needed Edwuin Pernía to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against Academia Puerto Cabello, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Kevin Díaz 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.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Oscar Moreno after the 2‑2 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Zamora is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Edwuin Pernía 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 thought about how hard another man trains, and Anthonys Matos was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Zamora 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.
Academia Puerto Cabello next, and one man in the Zamora dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and César Urpín trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Zamora know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Zamora. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
1 for Sergio Sulbarán, marked 7.94, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Words at Zamora training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Anthonys Matos 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.
Antony Trujillo 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 2‑1 win over Estudiantes de Merida, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑1, Oscar Moreno could afford to be generous.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Zamora, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Nobody at Zamora will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Zamora 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 Zamora this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
0‑2 to Monagas, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Words at Zamora training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Cristian Díaz 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 supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
There were 87 minutes on the clock and Metropolitanos had all but banked the point. Football rarely reads the room, and Zamora did not stop to explain themselves.
1 for Sergio Sulbarán, marked 7.96, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
7 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Metropolitanos were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zamora this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Metropolitanos made Zamora work for it, but the scoreboard read 3‑2 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Words at Zamora training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Anthonys Matos 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Zamora they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Edwuin Pernía 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 thought about how hard another man trains, and Anthonys Matos was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Zamora can pretend not to have heard.
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.
Edwuin Pernía 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.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Words at Zamora training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Anthonys Matos 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.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Zamora told Anthony Uribe something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
In brief
The dugoutGabriel Benítez is still being punished for one mistake
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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Zamora is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Edwuin Pernía and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Words at Zamora training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Anthonys Matos 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.
200 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
Minute 92, against Deportivo La Guaira, 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zamora 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.” Stiven Valencia and Zamora agree another 4 years.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Words at Zamora training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Anthonys Matos 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.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Oscar Moreno after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
“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 Zamora, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Zamora is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Edwuin Pernía 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 here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Words at Zamora training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Cristian Díaz 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.
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.
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.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Cristian Castillo has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Oscar Otero 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. Oscar Moreno 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.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Words at Zamora training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Anthonys Matos 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 clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Zamora is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. César Urpín is a Zamora player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Zamora asked and Atletico Nacional said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Anthonys Matos was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Zamora 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Zamora, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Zamora. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Jean Paúl Madera had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zamora this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Words at Zamora training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sergio Sulbarán 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.
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 Roberth Patiño is on it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Brayan Rodríguez trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Zamora is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Edwuin Pernía 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.
Everybody at Zamora saw it before anybody said it, which is how this always goes. At 36 the decline is real and measurable — 3 points — and the only question left is how the club handles somebody it owes a great deal to.
Zamora asked and Angostura said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Words at Zamora training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Anthonys Matos 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.
A loan enquiry to Independiente Rivadavia: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
A loan enquiry to Atletico Nacional: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Zamora people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Arlés Flores 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Botafogo have kept their man, and Zamora go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Words at Zamora training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Anthonys Matos 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.
Nobody at Zamora 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.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Atlético El Vigía waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Zamora is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
The offer from Atlético El Vigía for Jean Paúl Madera 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Zamora they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Zamora have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words at Zamora training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sergio Sulbarán 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.
Zamora have made the call to Estudiantes. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Zamora have done the hard part with Talleres, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Zamora had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Estudiantes, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Gabriel Benítez 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Shakhtar have kept their man, and Zamora go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
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.
Deportivo Miranda have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Atlético El Vigía will make the call about Ítalo Sulbarán this week. Zamora have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Zamora people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Everything agreed with Atletico Nacional, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Words at Zamora training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Anthonys Matos 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.
Antony Trujillo 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.
Zamora have made the call to Estudiantes. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Carlos Lujano is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
Edwuin Pernía 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 thought about how hard another man trains, and Sergio Sulbarán was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Edwuin Pernía and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Words at Zamora training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Anthonys Matos 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Zamora, and both men came out saying it was fine.
In brief
The dugoutNéstor Jiménez has become a man the manager trusts
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zamora this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
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 Antony Trujillo is on it.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Zamora is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Arlés Flores 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 thought about how hard another man trains, and Cristian Díaz 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 Cristian Díaz is on it.
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.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Zamora than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
“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 Zamora, and it is not being withdrawn.
Gabriel Benítez 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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Words at Zamora training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Anthonys Matos 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.
Nobody at Zamora 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.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
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.
22 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Cristian Díaz was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Zamora they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Antony Trujillo has agreed terms with Deportivo Tachira for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
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.
Edwuin Pernía 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.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Edgar Benítez has just signed for Zamora, and for once the answer mattered.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Anthonys Matos was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Arlés Flores trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
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 José Sequera is on it.
Academia Puerto Cabello go through and Zamora go home, 1‑2 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Edwuin Pernía 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.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Richard Celis, and the manager let it.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Words at Zamora training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Anthonys Matos 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.
Marked 7.74. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑2 defeat, delivered by Oscar Moreno to a room that had heard them before.
Every club 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 it has been tried.
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 Richard Celis is on it.
Edwuin Pernía and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Words at Zamora training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Cristian Díaz 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.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Zamora. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Antony Trujillo trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Arlés Flores and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words at Zamora training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Anthonys Matos 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.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Erickson Gallardo has written the date down.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Zamora, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Anthonys Matos was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
21 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Zamora. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Carlos Lujano is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Zamora than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
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 José Sequera is on it.
He is 23 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.
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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Words at Zamora training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Anthonys Matos 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.
Marked 8.04 — 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zamora this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
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.” Oscar Moreno kept it short after the 2‑1 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
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.
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 Néstor Jiménez is on it.
Two goals and a mark of 8.33 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Roberth Patiño, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.64
A mark of 7.64 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
1 for Antony Trujillo, marked 7.89, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
At 21 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words at Zamora training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Anthonys Matos 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.
Antony Trujillo and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout24 Aug 2026
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.” Oscar Moreno, on a 4‑1 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
Edwuin Pernía 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 paperwork is done long before the player is. Guillermo Marín has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Zamora have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
The phone has started ringing about Beycker Velásquez again, and this time the name on the line is Kazincbarcika. Zamora are listening politely and promising nothing.
21 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
The 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.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Isaac Ramírez falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Gabriel Rondon 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.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Alejandro Ferraresi has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Francisco Osorio is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Luis Moreno is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Anthonys Matos was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Arlés Flores 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. Anthony Uribe is a Zamora player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
The 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.
He is doing things every Saturday that nobody around him can answer. It is flattering for a season and a problem after that, and Zamora know which stage they are at.