From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad8 Feb 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Johandrys Herrera
136 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Zulia lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad8 Feb 2027
A falling-out at Zulia
Carlos Suárez and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 21. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad8 Feb 2027
A row about effort at Zulia
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Luis Parra was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match6 Feb 2027
0‑2 to Deportivo La Guaira, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Market8 Feb 2027
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Rafael Savarino has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market8 Feb 2027
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Daniel Arango 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 dugout8 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Lautaro Porres, and the manager let it.
The dugout8 Feb 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 Victor Herrera left the room before anybody could ask which.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad1 Feb 2027
144 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Zulia lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Player ratings1 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 28. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Squad1 Feb 2027
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.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Words exchanged at Zulia
Carlos Suárez 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.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Words at Zulia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Luis Parra 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.
Match30 Jan 2027
0‑1 to Estudiantes de Merida, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout1 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Stifensón Pérez, and the manager let it.
The dugout1 Feb 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 Victor Herrera left the room before anybody could ask which.
Looking ahead1 Feb 2027
Deportivo La Guaira next, and one man in the Zulia dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad25 Jan 2027
A fracture rules Jhonarby Salazar out for 20 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Zulia will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Tempers go at Zulia
Renzo Zambrano 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.
Match23 Jan 2027
Deportivo Tachira left with the points after a 1‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Words at Zulia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. José Acosta 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 dugout25 Jan 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Johandrys Herrera, and the manager let it.
The dugout25 Jan 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 1‑3 defeat, delivered by Victor Herrera to a room that had heard them before.
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
There was one mistake and it ended in the net. Defenders are judged on the worst thing they did rather than on the eighty-nine minutes either side of it, which is unfair and is also the job.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
Edixon Mena is still being punished for one mistake
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.
Boardroom25 Jan 2027
Zulia say no to the training-ground money
The plan went upstairs and came back down. Nothing about that will make a headline anywhere else, and everybody who works at the training ground will remember it for years.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad18 Jan 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 28 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad18 Jan 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zulia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words at Zulia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Luis Parra 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.
Transfer targets18 Jan 2027
Zulia asked and Mitre said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
The manager makes an example of Ándrés González
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
Hermes Rodríguez is still being punished for one mistake
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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad11 Jan 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 36 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad11 Jan 2027
A falling-out at Zulia
Renzo Zambrano and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad11 Jan 2027
A row about effort at Zulia
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Luis Parra was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets11 Jan 2027
Zulia asked and Colón said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Market11 Jan 2027
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Francisco Otero 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.
Market11 Jan 2027
One of our own: Victor Rincon joins the Zulia first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Victor Rincon is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad4 Jan 2027
43 days out for Jhonarby Salazar after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Zulia will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Words exchanged at Zulia
Renzo Zambrano 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.
Transfer targets4 Jan 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Patronato have kept their man, and Zulia go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Words at Zulia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. José Acosta 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.
Transfer targets4 Jan 2027
A loan move for Joaquín Barolín is in the works
Zulia have made the call to Patronato. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Transfer targets4 Jan 2027
A loan move for Matías Córdoba is in the works
Zulia have made the call to Colón. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad28 Dec 2026
51 days out for Jhonarby Salazar after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Zulia will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Tempers go at Zulia
Renzo Zambrano 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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Franco Farías gets the move he always wanted
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Franco Farías has just signed for Zulia, and for once the answer mattered.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Luis Parra 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.
Transfer targets28 Dec 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Colón have kept their man, and Zulia go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Transfer targets28 Dec 2026
A loan enquiry to Mitre: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Transfer targets28 Dec 2026
A loan enquiry to San Lorenzo: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Zulia. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Market28 Dec 2026
The best deals are the ones the accountants never notice. Franco Farías arrives at Zulia with his wages the only cost and something to prove the only clause.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad21 Dec 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 61 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad21 Dec 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zulia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Benjamín Morales arrives at the club he grew up with
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Benjamín Morales has, at Zulia, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Squad21 Dec 2026
A row about effort at Zulia
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Luis Parra was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets21 Dec 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Albion have kept their man, and Zulia go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Ándrés González
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
Market21 Dec 2026
The name of Marber Suárez keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Zulia say nothing, which says plenty.
Market21 Dec 2026
The best deals are the ones the accountants never notice. Benjamín Morales arrives at Zulia with his wages the only cost and something to prove the only clause.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad14 Dec 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 69 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Transfer targets14 Dec 2026
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Almirante Brown keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Squad14 Dec 2026
A falling-out at Zulia
Carlos Suárez and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets14 Dec 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. San Lorenzo have kept their man, and Zulia go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Market14 Dec 2026
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. David Gonzalez is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market14 Dec 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Alejandro Osorio 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.
Squad14 Dec 2026
A row about effort at Zulia
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and José Acosta was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets14 Dec 2026
A loan move for Sebastián Jaume is in the works
Zulia have made the call to Albion. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Transfer targets14 Dec 2026
A loan move for Francisco Fraga is in the works
Zulia have made the call to Racing Club. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad7 Dec 2026
77 days out for Jhonarby Salazar after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Zulia will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market7 Dec 2026
Juan González hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Zulia can pretend not to have heard.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Words exchanged at Zulia
Renzo Zambrano 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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
A row about effort at Zulia
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Luis Parra was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets7 Dec 2026
Zulia asked and Estudiantes said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Transfer targets7 Dec 2026
Almirante Brown 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad30 Nov 2026
85 days out for Jhonarby Salazar after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Zulia will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Tempers go at Zulia
Renzo Zambrano 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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words at Zulia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Luis Parra is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad23 Nov 2026
94 days out for Jhonarby Salazar after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Zulia will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad23 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zulia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad23 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Zulia
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and José Acosta was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Hermes Rodríguez'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.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
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.
Market23 Nov 2026
The name of Marber Suárez keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Zulia say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad16 Nov 2026
A fracture rules Jhonarby Salazar out for 101 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Zulia will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad16 Nov 2026
A falling-out at Zulia
Renzo Zambrano and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at Zulia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Luis Parra is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad9 Nov 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 109 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market9 Nov 2026
“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 Zulia, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words exchanged at Zulia
Carlos Suárez 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.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words at Zulia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Luis Parra 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.
Market9 Nov 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Andres Murillo 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.
Market9 Nov 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Jose Cordova 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 dugout9 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Carlos Alemán
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
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.
Market9 Nov 2026
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Juan González may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad2 Nov 2026
117 days out for Jhonarby Salazar after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Zulia will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market2 Nov 2026
Juan González hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Zulia can pretend not to have heard.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Tempers go at Zulia
Carlos Suárez 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad26 Oct 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 125 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad26 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zulia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Oct 2026
A row about effort at Zulia
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Luis Parra was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
Hermes Rodríguez is still being punished for one mistake
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.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Zulia. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Market26 Oct 2026
The name of Marber Suárez keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Zulia say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad19 Oct 2026
A fracture rules Jhonarby Salazar out for 132 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Zulia will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad19 Oct 2026
A falling-out at Zulia
Renzo Zambrano and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad19 Oct 2026
A row about effort at Zulia
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Luis Parra was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad19 Oct 2026
28 new faces, and Zulia are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
Market19 Oct 2026
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Carlos Suárez signs something — a contract at Zulia or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Ándrés González has written the date down.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad12 Oct 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 140 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market12 Oct 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad12 Oct 2026
18 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Words exchanged at Zulia
Renzo Zambrano 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.
Market12 Oct 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Rafael Casseres 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.
Market12 Oct 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Cristian Ferraresi 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad5 Oct 2026
148 days out for Jhonarby Salazar after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Zulia will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market5 Oct 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Tempers go at Zulia
Renzo Zambrano 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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
A row about effort at Zulia
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Luis Parra was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
Edgard Pérez knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Zulia, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Zulia. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad28 Sep 2026
A fracture rules Jhonarby Salazar out for 155 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Zulia will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad28 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zulia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Sep 2026
The medical room confirms 22 days on the sidelines for Frank Fuentes, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Luis Parra 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 dugout28 Sep 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Hermes Rodríguez'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.
Market28 Sep 2026
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad21 Sep 2026
163 days out for Jhonarby Salazar after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Zulia will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad21 Sep 2026
A falling-out at Zulia
Carlos Suárez 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
The medical room confirms 28 days on the sidelines for Stifensón Pérez, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad21 Sep 2026
A row about effort at Zulia
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and José Acosta was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market21 Sep 2026
Experience through the door at Zulia
José Acosta arrives at 37 with nothing left to prove and plenty left to pass on. Legs are a young man's currency; knowing where to stand never ages.
Market21 Sep 2026
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Carlos Suárez signs something — a contract at Zulia or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad14 Sep 2026
Lautaro Porres gets the move he always wanted
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Lautaro Porres has just signed for Zulia, and for once the answer mattered.
Market14 Sep 2026
“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 Zulia, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets14 Sep 2026
Everything agreed with another club, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Boardroom14 Sep 2026
Deportivo Lara will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. José Ardila has pre-agreed a move to Zulia, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Luis Parra 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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zulia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market14 Sep 2026
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Gabriel Castillo is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market14 Sep 2026
One of our own: Luis Martinez joins the Zulia first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Luis Martinez is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market14 Sep 2026
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
In brief
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Squad
Zulia are still strangers to each other
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The dugout
Edgard Pérez has been promised minutes
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The dugout
The manager plants his flag on Jesús Gamarra
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market7 Sep 2026
Juan González hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Zulia can pretend not to have heard.
Squad7 Sep 2026
A move Jesús Juárez would have made for nothing
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Jesús Juárez is living that version at Zulia, and it tends to show in the first month.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
Everything agreed with another club, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Tempers go at Zulia
Carlos Suárez 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
A row about effort at Zulia
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Luis Parra was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Ayrton Páez has outgrown this division
There is a level at which a footballer stops being tested and starts being contained, and he reached it some time ago. Zulia know it, and so does everybody who watches him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad31 Aug 2026
Ayrton Páez gets the move he always wanted
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Ayrton Páez has just signed for Zulia, and for once the answer mattered.
Squad31 Aug 2026
51 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad31 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zulia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Stifensón Pérez 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.
Market31 Aug 2026
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
Hermes Rodríguez is still being punished for one mistake
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.
Market31 Aug 2026
It is the least glamorous business a club does and the reason seasons do not collapse in February. Ayrton Páez is here for the weeks when three men are injured and somebody still has to play.
Market31 Aug 2026
The name of Marber Suárez keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Zulia say nothing, which says plenty.
Market31 Aug 2026
Zulia have let the market know Jesús Gamarra can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad24 Aug 2026
A falling-out at Zulia
Renzo Zambrano and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad24 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Zulia
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Luis Parra was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout24 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Carlos Alemán
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match12 Aug 2026
Zulia out of the cup
Estudiantes de Merida ended it 0‑2. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.
Squad17 Aug 2026
7 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 25. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Market17 Aug 2026
“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 Zulia, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Zulia
Renzo Zambrano 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.
Squad17 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Zulia
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Luis Parra was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match15 Aug 2026
It finished 1‑0, and it was Renzo Zambrano’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Zulia.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Marked 8.13 — 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market10 Aug 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad10 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zulia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom10 Aug 2026
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Yohandry Lacruz has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Zulia have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
The dugout10 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Carlos Suárez, and the manager let it.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Sergio Gonzalez has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Daniel Rosales has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market10 Aug 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Richard Arango 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.
Match8 Aug 2026
Trujillanos left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Words at Zulia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stifensón Pérez is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match1 Aug 2026
Nowhere to hide for Zulia
0‑9 against Zamora, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Hermes Rodríguez and Zulia agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Tempers go at Zulia
Carlos Suárez 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.
Match1 Aug 2026
9 goals as Zulia and Zamora go for it
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 9 goals between Zulia and Zamora, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Luis Parra falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad3 Aug 2026
There is a level at which a footballer stops being tested and starts being contained, and he reached it some time ago. Zulia know it, and so does everybody who watches him.
Boardroom3 Aug 2026
Nobody left the Zulia dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
Market3 Aug 2026
Still no offer on the table, and Hermes Rodríguez’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.
The dugout3 Aug 2026
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑9, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.