Now, I will make another post to fill you in on what has transpired in the league thus far (bad), but right now let’s focus on Thursday. Yes, Thursday. A midweek match. Mauro has been doing a great job previewing and summarizing the goings on in the Copa Sudamericana, but I know deep down you have been aching to know my take on the affairs, which include the meteoric and impossible to predict rise of the beloved bicho from “luckily and reluctantly invited because we couldn’t find a loophole to get Vélez to qualify” to “semifinalist that all lame American journalists now discover is the first club for Maradona and subsequently write an article on it” (Note: I have not found any article matching the second description because I don’t read American soccer journalism, but I just get the feeling that there is some genius finally putting it all together). Continue below and discover the magic.

Bullet point warning! Here are the most important aspect of this mini-run.

1. The Copa Sudamericana is NOT the same thing as the UEFA Cup. If someone says it, tell them to stop reducing everything to overly generalized analogies. If you think it…please stop. The Sudamericana is not concurrent with the Libertadores, meaning that the same team could win both in the same year (Boca barely missed out on this distinction by losing to Once Caldas on penalties in the final of the Libertadores in 2004 before winning the Sudamericana later in the year, though, interestingly enough, they would have won had South America utilized the away goals rule at that time).

2. Sergio Escudero is nuts. Dangerous, even. Sure “hot-headed Latin” is an overused cliché, but there are times in this world when it applies, and Escudero has converted himself into the stereotypical “see ankle, kick ankle” defender. He has 5 yellow cards thus far in the tournament…the team has played 7 matches. Oh, by the way, he is currently suspended for three matches in the league due to his 4 red cards over the past 2 years. Whatever it takes, I guess.

3. The team has played the best when it mattered most, and that means that they have won or done enough on the road to get this far. I cannot stress how important or stupefying this is. The round-by-round breakdown is like this:

vs. San Lorenzo: 0-0 first leg at home, 2-0 victory on the road. The first real WTF moment this year. Pavlovich, aka the Vulture, aka Everything We Were Looking For, aka This Is Why I Complained So Much About Delorte, set the tone and the defense held firm. Amazing.

vs. San Luis: 1-2 first leg on the road, 2-0 victory at home. Pavlovich again. He just got bored, burned 3 defenders, and scored on his own in Mexico to give the team the kick in the ass that they needed and some hope for the return leg. Then he helped finish the deal.

vs. Palmeiras: 1-0 on the road, 2-0 at home. This one isn’t even worth writing about. Escudero brought his reputation to an international level when Denilson (the old one) claimed that Sergio said he would “end his career”. Yeah, we’re basically a bad biker club who kicks a ball around…

As you can see, the troubles away from home that I documented ad nauseum last year (and continue this year…) were magically solved in this tournament. What the hell is that about? I have no answers, so I will just stop writing about it.

So, where do you stand now? Argentinos needs to score at least one goal. That much we know. I, as always, know very little more. AAAJ hasn’t beaten Estudiantes in La Plata since the Clausura 2005, before Verón returned from Italy, so that means little. The hill is steep, the odds are against them…and right now that doesn’t seem to mean anything to them.

More to come…

The match on Thursday night against San Lorenzo was my greatest moment as an Argentinos fan. I will post the summary below, but the first goal shows how much promise was wasted last year, in spite of the fifth place finish and the qualification into the Copa Sudamericana: Nicolás Pavlovich, as the striker whose job is to take the ball and score with it, simply made the right run and a subtle touch that made its way past Orion to the back of the net. Alejandro Delorte, though he produced goals when they counted and was a key piece of the equation in certain matches, could not fill the role of the player who could add that particular spark at any moment…and he wasted numerous opportunities in the process. Let it go, Scott, seriously…

There is so much that could be said about the proceedings in Bajo Flores; the defense, especially Juan Mercier and Nestor Ortigoza as the central defensive midfielders, was fantastic. Much can be written and said about the three defensemen Andrés Scotti, Matías Caruzzo, and Juan Sabia, as well as the essential contributions from Gonzalo Prósperi and Sergio Escudero as the wingbacks/fifth defenders. The seven players mentioned above suffocated any semblance of attack from a formidable side and, as the first leg finished 0 to 0, keeping the opponent from scoring assured decision by penalty kicks, at the very least. Alas, penalties were not needed, as Pavlovich and Hauche put the ball in the net in two of the few chances that the team generated, but that’s all they needed. With all of the struggles these men have had on the road, the result was both surprising and wonderful. They now face a tough challenge in either San Luis from Mexico or Quito from Ecuador. Qualifying was an accomplishment itself and it is nothing short of wonderful to watch them progress.

Tomorrow (Sunday) night, they sqaure off after a short turnaround in Tucuman against San Martin de Tucuman…a team that four years ago was fighting three divisions lower and has slowly made its way up the rankings to now be squaring up against the big boys (and Argentinos). I am sure the Disney movie is in production now. They have won one match (at home) this far and they will be a tough matchup, especially when you consider the fact that the team had such an emotional match only three days before. A draw will be seen as an accomplishment.

AAAJ 2 – San Lorenzo 0
Goals by Gabriel Hauche and Nicolas Pavlovich
Round of 16 in late September of the Copa Sudamericana against Liga Quito of Ecuador or San Luís Potosí of Mexico.

Copa Sudamericana -

The new squad debuted at home against San Lorenzo in the quest to top this conglomeration of South and Central American clubs. As Arsenal proved last year, any team can get hot and come out champions. However, no team can accomplish it by looking the way Argentinos did on August 6th. They had 1 (one) shot on goal, which was saved brilliantly by Agustín Orion as he auditions for a payday in Europe. Jonathan Botinelli was spectacular in saving two one-on-one situations before moving on to Sampdoria after the match. I am trying to think of “cute” or “funny” or “interesting” things to say about the match. I can’t. It was cold and boring and depressing, since all San Lorenzo has to do is win at home tonight (tune in live on Fox Sports en Español at 8pm Eastern!!!) to advance. I am happy, however, that they did not go out and embarrass themselves and I am hopeful that they will do the same tonight: play well enough so that I can come to the office tomorrow without being verbally abused to the point of tears. Unfortunately, I cry easily so…possible sick day alert!

If you recall, last year’s 61 points were a big deal for two reasons: 1) the most successful campaign since they were champions of the Libertadores in 1985 and 2) qualification for the Sudamericana, which works to lend legitimacy to the team and assets to the club’s coffers. However, with another uninspired and impotent outing tonight, all of that will turn into an unspectacular wash. The analogy here would be the kid who gets invited to his first high school dance by the girl he likes, but only as part of her “group”, not an actual date setup, and then watch her make out with the guy she really likes, who just also happens to be the kid that verbally mocks him every day in trigonometry class with verbals assaults on his senses of fashion and hygiene and has turned his nights from peaceful slumber to turbulent sessions of teeth gnashing and tears…in other words, it would suck.

Torneo Apertura 2008 -

There have been two matches thus far, and they are night and day. If you’ve never been to Sarandí, then a description of the smell in the town is impossible. I thought I had seen everything, but the location of the stadium is right at the meeting point of what seems like 10,000 dumpsters and sewers, all of which has been slowly roasted and then pissed on by 10,000 horses. Truly stomach-wrenching. Unfortunately enough, that wasn’t the only disgusting aspect of the Argentinos-Arsenal match played three days after the match against San Lorenzo. Arsenal is riding high on the signing of Facundo Sava, who left Racing recently but will never lose his ability to score that goal that beats your team. Sure enough, 3 minutes into his debut for his new club, he headed one over Matías Caruzzo and past Torrico for the first goal of the season. It only got worse from there. I will spare you (read:myself) the details, but the final was 3-0 and it wasn’t that close.

If you’re paying attention, you’ll notice that Argentinos had played two full matches without scoring a goal…those are rough waters. Velez Sarsfield was next on the schedule and the first 45 minutes still showed no signs of hope. We had depended so strongly on homefield advantage, yet they were pathetic. The 3-5-2 formation had holes in the defense and no punch in the offense. Juan Fernandez, substitute wingback on the left and right, was abused in both matches and was absolutely shown to be someone with next to 0 footballing talent. The starters, Gonzalo Prosperi and Sergio Escudero, can NOT take a week off….ever. Anyway, the second half whistle blew, and we “dealt with a miracle”. An unexpected cast of characters delivered on the goals: Andrés Scotti towered over the defense on a deflected free kick and knocked it home to open the floodgates; Ortigoza pounded a penalty after Tobio kicked the crap out of Hauche in the area with the ball 50 yards away; Mercier played a beautiful 1-2 with Pavlovich and finished with the left foot; and Prosperi centered one that Aban nailed home for the 4-1 victory.

I have talked before about how Hauche is a player who has some talents, but whose principal attributes stand in the fact that he will take every advantage he can out there to find position, win the ball, draw a foul, etc. He has a reputation of a questionable player, it is obvious now, as he doesn’t draw many fouls and is called for a lot. However, in the Velez match, it all played to our favor and played a big part in the result. With a 1-0 lead in the 55th minute, he was tugging and pushing in a fight to get the ball against two defenders. He lost and the ball was cleared. One of the defenders, Tobio, a real young-looking guy, had been fighting with Gabriel the entire afternoon. He had obviously had had enough, as he kicked the crap out of Hauche in the area…dumb, dumb dumb. Red card and penalty and the entire match changed.

What do we know

Nothing, as always. Rodrigo “Rengo” Diaz, the big signing, has played well, but nothing to make you think that he’s truly going to lead this team to a finish better than the 5th place from last year. The loss of our hero Alvaro Pereira has led Gorosito to opt for a much more defensive posture, with a 3-5-2, and at times Diaz, Peñalba, and Hauche are stranded up top. They haven’t learned how to make goals out of nothing and the support from the wings, which was so vital last year, is non-existent. They STILL looked horrible away from home and weak on set pieces–the SAME problems that haunted them last year. Their defense looks really solid (ignore the Arsenal match) and that is good enough for me. Onward to San Lorenzo tonight…

First, and least importantly, Diadora has replaces Signia as the maker of the kits. Here is what the current line looks like:

That’s Matías Caruzzo in the black sports jacket and some player from Tigre with a blue ball. The new Argentinos jerseys are the three on the left. I trust that the actual players will get to wear shoes and that Amnesty International is looking into the fact that these poor models are asked to work without them.

The miracle referred to in the title is actually two-fold: the current version of the squad debuts tonight (TONIGHT!) against San Lorenzo in a match for the Copa Sudamericana, the nerd sitting alone at lunch while everyone fawns over the Copa Libertadores. It’s the first international tournament for Argentinos in 12 years. Much simpler times, those. Also, the match will be televised throughout the world! If you are in the US, coverrage begins at 7pm Eastern on Fox Sports en Español; for the UK, I believe it’s Setanta Sports 1 at midnight (like you have somewhere to be or something to wake up for tomorrow…come on…watch the match).

What you can expect to see from Argentinos is a decisively risky 3-4-1-2 formation. Risky in the sense of the ability to score goals. The only new incorporation is Rodrigo “Rengo” Díaz as the attacking mid, while lanky Gabriel Peñalba moves up a bit to accompany Gabriel Hauche as a second striker. Essentially he will be replacing Alejandro Delorte as the principal recipient of passes from the back whose responsibility is to hold it and distribute to Rengo and Hauche to start the attack. However, I can’t find anyone else on the list of players who is much of a threat at this key point of the strategy. Juan Mercier is definitely capable of moving the ball forward a bit but can’t be relied on to slot one home or lay off a cheeky pass, Gonzalo Prósperi and Sergio Escudero are far from Roberto Carlos or Cafu, and Nestor Ortigoza will probably be more concerned with the critique of his latest cave painting than finding the back of the net. Defensively, they are actually quite solid. Torrico returns to adequately guard the net and the backline of Caruzzo, Scotti, and Juan Sabia, when combining with the ball-winning efforts of Ortigoza and Mercier, is a formidable obstacle for any team.

Long story short: it should be a very low-scoring affair, depending on how well Rengo has learned his new teammates’ tendencies and how well Peñalba can shift from being the main cog in the machine in the middle to focusing his efforts closer to the opponents’ goal. Over the past year, Argentinos has not lost at home in 16 matches (only 2 draws in that time) and that was the key to their success. Tonight’s match needs to be a continuation of that trend if they have any hope of progressing in this tournament.

Ah, the sweet beginnings of winter have finally passed and the last match is nothing but a memory…and a very happy one at that. The scrappy bunch came back from a one goal deficit by virtue of two goals from now-hero Alejandro Delorte to vanquish Rosario Central 2-1, thereby guaranteeing entry in this year’s version of Copa Sudamericana. Let me take this space to officially offer some form of apology to Sr. Delorte for my harsh words. After the team had given up an early goal and needed two goals to make that step forward by qualifying for the international tournament, Big Al did what was necessary to guarantee victory. Congrats, big man…and thanks for the moment. Though some could argue that if he had performed at a higher level throughout the campaign, those heroics wouldn’t have been necessary…

DEPARTURES

On the subject of the monstrosity of mediocrity, he will not make any further appearances for the club (unless they sign him back in the future…oh God, did I just jinx that?) as he and Roberto Battión will be suiting up for Aris Salonika in Greece. Yep, one team signed those two mediocre players…methinks that the agents put the highlights from the Boca match on loop and convinced them that these two are mad crazy goal scorers.

Oh yeah, Nicolas Gianni and his beautiful soccer hair that topped the head of a guy who is just too slow now is on loan at the Universidad de Chile. No one else of importance has left. That is a good thing.

Alvaro Pereira’s departure to CFR Cluj in Romania is the biggest news. He is one of the players who has busted his ass to get better over the past year and who has a pretty high ceiling in his development. Cluj won the Romanian title and thus qualified for the Champion’s League, so our export will jump straight into the fire. One important note is that they have decided to play him as a defender instead of his customary left midfield position. I will do my part in periodically updating his progress.

RETURNS (NO REFUND)

Franco Niell and Matías Córdoba have been returned to sender earlier than planned by the clubs, DC United and Real Salt Lake, respectively, who had taken them on loan in the MLS. Neither one had a real place on the team before, aside from “rarely used substitute” or “guy who really pushes the first team hard”, so it’s no real disappointment that they are back. They still don’t have a place, however. I suppose Córdoba can spell one of the guys in the middle should the need arise.

NEWCOMERS

Rodrigo “Rengo” Díaz, Juan Fernández (midfielders), Mariano Martínez, Nicolas Pavlovich (strikers), and Pablo Hernández (defender) are the newest members of the club. I don’t know much about them other than what I read, which includes the fact that Diaz and Pavlovich will most likely be slotted into starting positions as soon as the season opens. I will surely be in here with opinions when there are actually matches to be played. The offseason is such a pain to survive.

Speaking of which, August 6 will see the boys return to the field in the first round of the Sudamericana at home against San Lorenzo.

2. Congratulations to River Plate, the latest champions of Argentina. Don’t kid yourself, they couldn’t have done it without the three points they took from Argentinos in, sadly, perhaps the best match Argentinos played on the road all season.

3. There’s only one week left! Positions are tight and there is still something to play for! The idea right now is the classic “win and they’re in”…as of the moment they have a two point lead over Vélez Sarsfield for the last qualification spot in this year’s Copa Sudamericana. Finally some intrigue that doesn’t involve relegation fears! They could have clinched qualification this past weekend, but, much like Boca Juniors, they managed to choke at the end of the season. Again, the match at home against Rosario Central will have the importance of a grand final…and I know Jeremy will be rooting for us.

4. Two of our finest players have already confirmed their departure to the richer and less-prone-to-potholes pastures of Europe.

a) Our local Cafu, Pablo Bárzola, will be plying his trade for Caen (and let me say it is fantastic to know that there is a blog in this world that is updated less than mine). For those who are curious, his most remarkable trait, besides being a tremendous dancer
is how well he can move the ball with his feet, aka dribble. His ability to get in and out of tight spaces and elude defenders never ceases to amaze. He is fast, but there are plenty of players who will still be able to get the advantage on him. He is a decent defender, but a smart coach could easily turn him exclusively into a right winger, since his skills are best displayed moving up the flanks and not in the box. A bright future awaits him and Caen is picking a ripe fruit off the tree; he can step in and play right away.

b) Our Uruguayan import Álvaro Pereira (who has been my favorite on the team for a while) will be casting his net in…Romania? CFR Cluj, located in the hamlet of…Cluj-Napoca…has contracted the services of our crafty and talented left winger (some would argue the most difficult position to replace on the whole goddamn field…) starting in August. In addition to getting himself used to various Romanian habits and weather patterns, Alvaro will also be playing Champions League football! This is the second year in a row that Argentinos has sent players straight from the squad to a Champions League team (Leonel Núñez last year, though Pereira should play more often than Lucky Leo). He’s quick, hard-working, a smart tackler, and gives great crosses. However, his free kicks lack any sort of punch and his tendency to kick the ball really far ahead and then run after it instead of dribbling will not last long in the big leagues. All the same, I can truly say it was a pleasure to watch him grow as a player since his arrival in August (has it really been less than a year?).

5. In the match against Lanús ten days ago, Gabriel Hauche scored the finest goal of his career and it is worth sharing here with you. It is, of course, the second goal…enjoy and look forward to a couple more posts this week as I try to catch up and get EVERYONE excited for this do-or-die match.

Summary of what has happened recently:

River Plate 4 – Argentinos Juniors 2.  Both teams came to play on this day, which is a pleasant surprise for us at AAAJ central.  Diego Buonanotte owned the afternoon, scoring two goals and moving in and around defenders at will, something which he should be doing around the world for the next ten or so years. The big deal here is that our boy Hauche had a one-on-one with Carrizo when the match was still 3-2…and choked–kicked it right at the keeper’s hands. His body language told you he was scared from the moment he touched the ball; he didn’t want it. All in all, considering the fact that River has conceded only 6 goals in 8 matches at home, scoring 2 is a good thing for this offense that is normally toothless when away from its home. Hauche’s miss was the most disappointing thing about the afternoon. Well, that and the fact that I am now 0-2 in blog matches.

Argentinos Juniors 2 – Estudiantes de La Plata 1.    And this, folks, is what kills me about supporting this club. Though Juan Verón did not play and it was obvious that they were focusing on their match for the Copa Libertadores later in the week, this powerhouse and probable champion this year was overmatched for 90 minutes and failed to threaten until late in the match when they were already down 2-0. The goals for Argentinos came on two ugly plays that were happy accidents from the misadventures of Alejandro Delorte. They aren’t even worth summarizing here. The good news is that the club brought plenty of passion and and endless supply of energy, which Estudiantes could not match.

Racing 1 – Argentinos 1. Nooooooooooo! We gave up a point to Racing Club de Avellaneda. This storied team has exactly one victory this season and finds amazing ways to lose any lead they have. It is well on its way to having to play a series against a second division club just for the right to play first division football. Add to that a fifth-minute strike from the unlikeliest source, one Nestor Ortigoza, and all signs seemed to point to only the second victory on foreign turf for Argentinos. Then Racing squeaked one past Torrico and Argentinos activated the “all defense” mode, waiting for the tie and the solitary point that it brings. Oh well, at least we’re not playing for our first division lives.

Argentinos 2 – Velez Sarsfield 0.  In what is the biggest rivalry for Argentinos until Platense manages to brush themselves off and return to real football, the bicho went out and played some of its finest football of the year.  Quick, assertive, and dominant in midfiel…all changes of dynamic for this bunch of low-hanging fruit. Sergio Escudero notched his first professional goal on a set piece (!!!!!!), when the other team managed to leave him alone two feet in front of the net. I still thought he would find a way to fuck it up. Alas, a second half opening goal was procured and the boys held their ground for the final half hour, w¡th my former man-crush Alvaro Pereira notching his second goal later on a fine little play with Pablo Barzola.

And down the stretch we come:

Four matches remain: visiting Arsenal de Sarandí, receiving Lanús, visiting Tigre, receiving Rosario Central. It’s difficult to ask for an easier scenario. The only team that is “fighting” for a position at this point of the season is Rosario (Tigre’s cup chances are slimmer and I just don’t want to consider them gaining that spot from behind; besides they lost 4-1 at home last night…I can’t help but think of them as a bottom-of-the-table team), who has distanced themselves significantly from relegation recently and should be safe by the last match. What is at stake for Argentinos? A place in an international tournament…at press time, Argentinos has 52 points in the 34 matches it has played thus far, meaning that they WOULD BE playing in the coming edition of the Copa Sudamericana, which is cool, but not THAT cool. Ideally, they could leapfrog Velez, River, and Independiente (who have 54, 54, and 55, respectively) to land what I think is the final Libertadores spot. Now that, ladies and gentlemen, is HUGE. They have twelve possible points, all of them within reason of being achieved, and River is the only one who has an easy schedule, so ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE. We do NOT want to be the lame horse being put down at the end, which is what will certainly happen to Boca, given recent history…more developments as they transpire.

Juan Mercier, after 28 years on the planet and 8+ of professional soccering, finally scored his first goal in Primera División. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehoooooooooooooooo. About damn time is what I say. Still, my hat’s off to you, ya big lug. He’s played well and has won a spot over Roberto Battión in the starting lineup as a gritty ball-winning midfielder.
Alejandro Delorte is officially banished and the difference on the field is notable. I am withholding my anger and the club not selling the six months remaining on his contract for the duration of the “salad days”, but not having him take up space on the field is a relief for the fans and the players; Gabriel Hauche is cementing his place as an extremely talented young Argentine who will be sold to a richer European club in the coming months.

Gorosito has stuck with a backline of three defenders for two matches in a row, initially due to the suspension of Alvaro Pereira and the fact that he has no replacement (in so many senses). The ball has been moved much more freely as a result with no negative reprecussions, namely no goals scored against.

It’s strange to read these two paragraphs and think that the team eeked out two 1-0 victories. There is no real reason for my enthusiasm; none at all. They beat two bad teams 1-0…bu, as always, the truth lies in unmeasurable things: the team has looked stronger, more confident, and more aggressive. It’s great for them to gain confidence against these weaker teams (coming up: Banfield and Gimnasia de Jujuy…) in order to have a sense of working together when they travel to play River.

Let’s talk tournaments!

The sad reality of being a fan of Argentinos Juniors is that the four stars on their jersey represents glories from at least 20 years ago…they aren’t much of a threat domestically this year and they haven’t qualified for an international tournament in God knows how long. That could all change. Yeah, let’s definitely qualify that statement heavily.

The breakdown of qualification for the Copa Libertadores (the richest and most storied club competition on the continent whose winner flies to Japan to compete in the Club World Cup), goes something like this:

Boca will qualify because they won the damn thing (again) last year. Comment all you like…I still hate their (much-deserved) success. Lanús and the champion of the Clausura will qualify for winning a short tournament. Now, this is where it gets tricky and confusing: I think that two other teams will qualify based on the number of points earned over the course of the Apertura and Clausura. Or maybe three…Regardless, if Boca (15 points) or Lanús (7) is champion of the Clausura, then another team would move into an automatic qualifying spot. Or something.

There’s another tourney to be played: the Copa Sudamericana! It’s played at a different time (August-Decemberish) and isn’t as lucrative, but it still counts, dammit! Boca and River are always invited (which renders it sort of a goofy and semi-invalid tournament in my eyes), Arsenal will be invited as champions of the tournament, and Lanús as champions of the Apertura as well as the champion of the Clausura, if it is different from those listed above. Then two or three more teams are added based on points.  Or something like that. Seriously, if ANYONE can clear this up, give me a hand…I’m dying.

Ultimately, the goal is to end up in the top 5 in points between the Apertura and Clausura (which, of course, doesn’t guarantee qualification…) and right now, things are heating up:

Tigre 47; Boca 46; Estudiantes 46 (I am giving them the three points for the suspended match against Racing…there’s no way they or anyone else can drop points against Racing any time soon); Lanús 45; Argentinos 41; Huracán 40; Vélez 40; Banfield 39; San Lorenzo 38; Independiente 38; Newell’s 38; River Plate 38; Arsenal 35; No one else matters.

So, Argentinos currently finds itself in an uncomfortable fifth place, with River in 12th, only 3 points behind. IF the team jells, IF they can continue to take points on the road, IF Delorte keeps his chromosome-lacking ass on the bench…I might have to make more midweek posts in the near future. I will keep you posted, dear reader.

Gabriel Hauché scored perhaps the greatest goal of his life in the fifth minute and then proceeded to make tricky passes and nifty runs for the duration of his time on the pitch in what was another match to add to his highlight reel when he is sold to a French team this summer. Write it down…unless Olympiakos decides to add another in their large stable of Argentines.

Huracán was able to run in and around the defense and set themselves up nicely many times, but was only able to hit the back of the net once. Well, they actually might have done it twice; they scored on a deflection from a corner kick, celebrated, ran back to kick off, and then had it disallowed for something that I think was an offside call. I don’t know, but it was one of the more confusing and chaotic scenes I have seen on a pitch in a while. Welcome to Argentina.

Mirosevic limped off injured in the 20th minute to add another chapter to his tenure at La Paternal. He’s shown himself to be effective and important for the squad when he’s on the field, but now he needs to find a way to stay there.

Delorte looked terrible and was booed off the field by the fans. Yet he played exactly as he has for the better part of the past eight months. And I am sure he will be on the field starting as soon as possible. An absolute disgrace.

Alvaro Pereira lifted his foot and planted it in an opponents leg in the 75th minute and was rightfully shown a red card. In the 4 matches he has played so far, he has been solid, but not as spectacular and dangerous as he was last year. His lack of effectiveness is noticeable.

It should be noted that this team’s spirit and hopes are lower than they have been since before Caruso Lombardi took charge in January 2007. There is almost no hope for them to qualify for either of the two big tournaments, they can’t win on the road, they have scored 3 goals in 5 matches (from which they have gathered a whopping total of 4 points)…there is very little to be excited about.

Pereira’s suspension combined with Mirosevic’s injury and Battión’s suspension means that Gorosito’s hand has been pushed and he will debut a rather risky formation against Colón de Santa Fé, which will look like this, according to reports:

Carrera; Fleitas, Scotti, Caruzzo; Barzola, Mercier, Ortigoza (nooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!! (c) Darth Vader), Escudero; Peñalba; Hauchá and Abán.

That looks like a lot of fun to watch. Barzola and Escudero are defenders in name only who love nothing more than to run forward and put pressure on the opposition’s defense, so sliding them further up the field and allowing them to play around a bit more offensivelycould reap benefits. Or it could also easily put a lot more pressure on the three remaining defenders. Either way, funfunfun.

Here is the only highlight package of the match against Huracán, which does not include the hotly contested disallowed goal, unfortunately.