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.

First off, I need to acknowledge the fact that I ran away like a little girl after the past few defeats. Here’s what took place:

Banfield 3 - Argentinos 2. The post was called “Divergence Point” and that’s exactly what it was; win there and confidence grows with more relegation fodder on tap OR lose there and realize that you don’t have what it takes, falling further behind teams who have just as much talent as you…well, they lost. They were dominated by a far superior midfield, led by the Colombian Magician (not an official nickname, but feel free to use it) Jairo Patiño and a claptrap defense (is that dirty?). Later, Gorosito inserted both Alejandro Delorte and Nico Gianni to provide some sort of spark, which is about the same as putting Dan Aykroyd and Rosie O’Donnell together hoping for box office magic (tell me…when was the last time you read a reference to East of Eden Exit to Eden (sticklers)?); magically, the only goal they were able to muster was Andres Scotti’s header from a corner. The loss was painful and embarrassing, affecting morale instantly…watch the hit they took:

Argentinos 1 - Gimnasia de Jujuy 1. What the f@#k? Truth be told, I don’t remember much from this match. I was there, but there was something a bit off from the start. There was no teamwork, no drive, no fun to be had on the field. Gonzalo Abán started in place of Delorte, which made a child happy somewhere in the world, but he couldn’t put the biscuit in the basket, as the kids say. Delorte was brought on, promptly hurled himself in a direction favorable to the team and assisted Hauche on a goal. All seemed to be right in the world until little Jorge Luna netted a perfect free kick and the lobos from the west took home a deserved point..mostly because the boys in red spent a lot of time dicking around (sorry ladies). Disappointing, aggravating, et al.

Newell’s Old Boys 2 - Argentinos 0. Congrats to Jeremy and co. They won the battle of the blogs and the battle of the Scottis. Domination in midfield (sense a trend?) and taking advantage of Argentinos’ weak-ass set piece defending make the 3 points a piece of cake for Caruso Lombardi. (I am not even going to get into the controversy Andrés Scotti started with him…not worth anyone’s time…just move along).

And then…Argentinos 2 - San Lorenzo 1. Even with all of the above being true, the absolute low point of the season took place two minutes into injury time of the first half yesterday afternoon; Mirosevic took a free kick on the far left side of the field with Ortigoza (already given a yellow for diving) and Barzola defending against the counter attack against Menseguez…well, he got the ball and bad things happened, namely Hauche, in a desperate attempt to get back and save the 9 other guys who messed up, dragged him down and gave San Lorenzo a free chance at goal, of which they took advantage. 1-0 into the locker rooms.

That was the low point. 1 point from the past three matches, very few signs of life in the first half, and a gifted goal for the visitors. Dreams of international tournaments or at the very least PRIDE IN THE WAY YOUR TEAM PLAYS were out the window…despair and anticipating the winter signings to regroup for next tournament were our only concerns. Then, something happened. Some kid came in…I still don’t know who he is, really. He wears #15 and his last name is Romero, but the official website links to Andres Romero (#23 and bad)’s information…so, anyway, he came in and he is GOOD. He runs quick, he made cheeky passes, he almost scored twice. AND HE BROUGHT LIFE BACK TO THE TEAM AND THE CROWD. Alvaro Pereira woke up from his 10 match nap, Gorosito put Peñalba in, and passes were crisp, runs were made, shots were taken until finally…penalty and conversion. Then, three minutes from time, Gabriel Perez knocked in Orion’s inexplicable rebound in the middle of the area to assure victory and renewed hope and spirit. It was the most celebrated victory since River walked out with their tails between their legs last September. A good amount of justified rejoicing was had and now we only have to wait for….a trip to La Monumental to play the same River Plate, who should kick our ass like we kicked theirs. It’s only fair, really.

I’ll be honest with you–I know nothing about this “Jerez” character. The players on Banfield who scare me are Jairo Patiño, a wily veteran who has learned how to appear at just the right moment to do just the right thing to mess up your life, and Dario Cvitanich, an effective striker who has the chance to represent Croatia some day.

The last time these teams met, Gonzalo Abán saved the day and salvaged a 2-0 victory at home, but the last time they faced off in Banfield, the home team took the three points. Gorosito still can’t be satisfied with playing the same lineup two matches in a row. Now that the talented Alvaro Pereira has returned for his two-match suspension, Pipo will stick with his 3 defender, 5 midfielder, 2 striker formation that leaves no room for him, though he will be on the bench and WILL BE substituted in. Tactics supercede talent, evidently. The new formation, as mentioned in the last post, has resulted in two victories that are always welcome. But, Banfield is far from as bad as Colón or Olimpo, so it will be put to the test…

Delorte will have to watch this match from the comfort of his customized bed because Pipo has finally seen the light, answered my prayers, etc. He’s not even on the bench!!! We don’t even have to anguish in the dying minutes, wondering if he will be substituted in just to fulfill some sort of “quotient of bad” that isn’t quite fulfilled by any of the other players on the field. It looks like Ortigoza fulfills that quotient on his own, though, so that’s one positive for him.

The formation looks like this, then: Carrera; Fleitas, Caruzzo, Scotti; Barzola, Mercier, Ortigoza, Escudero, Peñalba; Abán, Hauche.

Barzola and Hauche have been playing better than they have at any other point; Mercier has done a solid job filling in, and the three defenders have worked hard to snuff out attacks quickly and effectively. Abán just runs around aimlessly a lot and Ortigoza kicks opposing players in the shin and will draw at least one yellow card today.

I don’t like making guarantees, but I know it will not end 0-0…the teams play way too open.

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.

They did it!It had been 11 painful and embarrassing matches over the course of more than 6 months, but Argentinos finally walked onto foreign turf and walked away with all 3 points. I wish the match had been a little more memorable than the anxious and plodding 90 minutes that it turned out to be. Regardless, this is like watching your eight-year-old child finally use the toilet on his own; the ends are more important than the means and all will be forgiven as long as the behavior continues, otherwise I will rub their face in it.

As mentioned in the (abridged, kinda fake) preview post, Gorosito opened with a new formation: he played with three central defenders instead of two; he moved the offensively-minded corner defenders into the midfield; he had Peñalba show his stuff as the playmaking midfielder; and most importantly, he built (I can only assume) a bench large enough for Delorte to rest his weary bones for the entire duration of the match (cue fanfare and confetti…). The idea was to compensate for the absence of the two outside midfielders (Mirosevic, injured, and Pereira, suspended–I know that Pereira will have to miss this week’s match against Olimpo de Bahía Blanca and I am not sure about Mirosevic’s status) and push play forward more than in the past.

It worked for the first thirty minutes or so. Everything eventually paid off in the 15th minute when Ortigoza played a cheeky ball forward to Peñalba, who cheekily turned and immediately passed it up to Hauche, who was making a cheeky run of his own. The pint-sized wonderboy then nudged the ball over the keeper and into the back of the net quite similarly to his goal last year against River. The celebration was intense (it was the first road goal of the year and the fourth in the six matches…I feel so stupid writing that) and they didn’t let down for the next few minutes, maintaining pressure and moving it around well until Sergio Escudero inevitably f@#%!d the whole thing up somehow.

Colón came back much stronger toward the end of the first half and the second half by bringing in three offensive midfielders, but never truly threatened. After 90 minutes, the whistle blew and the champagne corks popped. The road losing streak was a huge monkey on the backs of the players and coaches and now that the stigma has been removed, they can focus on gaining more points there now. The coming weeks brings in a lot of relegation fodder (Olimpo, Gimnasia de Jujuy, Racing (*chuckle*)) and hopefully some much needed momentum.

Tidbits:

Andrés Scotti and Escudero both received their fifth yellow, which will bring about even more changes to the lineup next week. With both Pereira and Escudero forced to sit out, the left side of the field will be something awful, most likely involving a little Ariel Seltzer and a lot of praying.

Leandro Fleitas (who I don’t think has been seen since his sending off against San Lorenzo last year in one of the most painful matches in recent memory), Juan Mercier, and Matías Caruzzo shut the Colón attack down regularly. Tremendous output, especially on the part of Fleitas and Mercier who do not receive a lot of playing time.

Nicolás Gianni is done, done, done…no speed, no vision, no effectiveness. It’s a sad story, since he is a product of the club and was reasonably good before his knee injury in September 2006. He has never returned to the same level of movement and creativity and it would simply be better for everyone if he were able to move on and start over somewhere else. Most likely it would be in Ecuador or the Second Division here. Sad but necessary.

I did not recommend “shooting” Gianni because I respect him and his pain and frustration are visible. I will recommend shooting Delorte. Shooting him and then selling him. See? You didn’t expect that, did ya? I propose taking him “out back”, shooting him in the head, and then SELLING HIM FOR PARTS!!! I was so satisfied with myself when I finally figured how best to get rid of him. He has so much “flesh”, “muscle”, “bone”, etc. that is so in demand these days…”kidneys”…that his components could bring a pretty penny. Recommending cutting him or sitting him until his contract runs out would a) not bring in additional revenue and b) inflict some other team’s fans to the incomparably pathetic displays he puts on whenever he steps on the field. So shoot him, cut him up, sell him. That’s it. Don’t let him back on the field.

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.

Positives from Argentinos…well, they are technically in a better place than Mike Huckabee. That’s good. There was little movement, little connection between the defense and the forwards, mostly because Alvaro Pereira was suspended, and Gorosito is STICKING WITH Battión and Ortigoza AND INCLUDED Andrés Romero for no reason whatsoever; all three are essentially abject failures as professional soccer players at this point. Peñalba entered for Romero late in the second half and showed the others how soccer is really supposed to be played: with your feet moving and your head looking up.

Late in the match, Nestor kicked Machín hard in the ankles, because he doesn’t know how else to compensate for his lack of talent, and recieved a red card, so he will be gone for at least one match. Hopefully that cruel soccer god can find it in his heart to extend his suspension for a few weeks or months more, because it is obvious that Gorosito cannot resist the temptation to put him on the field for no discernible reason. So, it would appear that Battión and Peñalba will be manning the middle on Saturday against Huracán at home, which is a 50% success rate…inching closer to a passing grade.

To sum up the entire match: low-key and ineffective in moving forward, desperate and barely effective in keeping the opponent from attacking. It is the same as the previous road matches (3 matches thus far without scoring). I can’t say it enough: this is not acceptable and the spirit of the team must change SOON (after this week’s match, this merry bunch of free spirits will travel to Santa Fé to face Colón, a bad team) so that they can earn enough points to qualify for the Copa Sudamericana. Reasonably, the goal should be 30 more points in the next 15 matches. Ha! I shouldn’t use the word “reasonable” with this team averaging two points per match for any length of time. So…it would appear that international tournaments are out of the question for the time being.

With the inclusions of Mirosevic and, more importantly, Pérez, the team has the skill and dynamic to create a lot of chances.  Pereira will be missed, since the only replacement the team has for left midfielder is a right mightfielder.  Otherwise, Hauché should combine well with the aforementioned players to create chances and take advantage of the gaps left in the Independiente defense.

Speaking of Independiente, thus far in the campaign they have, stop me if this sounds familiar, lost two road matches and won their lone homematch.  This is quite the critical moment for them, since more is expected and their coach, Pedro Troglio, has his position being questioned by fans and directors alike.  They ended last season with seven consecutive matches without winning–and that was after they had a legitimate chance to win the title.  If things don’t turn around soon (and hosting a team like Argentinos is the PERFECT time for a team to “turn it around”), changes will have to be made.  They will throw out Fabián Assmann (seriously…his name is “Assmann”…get your jerseys ordered NOW!); Ricardo Moreira, Leandro Gioda, Guillermo Rodríguez, Lucas Mareque; Gastón Machín, Mariano Herrón, Freddy Grisales, Matías Oyola; Daniel Montenegro and Germán Denis.  Ismael Sosa is another player in attack who will make an appearance, should the team be in search of a goal.  He is really, really good and is a name you should learn now so that when he is a bigger time player in Europe, you can impress your friends by saying “I remember him from Independiente way back in 2008.”  Good times.

IF Argentinos can maintain possession in the midfield, which is this Independiente’s weak spot, and use it to take the game to Independiente (highly unlikely since Battión and Ortigoza seem to revel in their abilities to lose the ball), IF they can mark every opponent on set pieces (100% result of bad coaching) and IF they can keep their composure on the road (their biggest obstacle, also a result of bad coaching), things could turn out ok for them.  This is the perfect time for them to play Independiente…their team has little confidence and is searching for answers to their problems.  A win tomorrow could be HUGE; a loss would just be more of the same and one step closer to the relegation zone (we’re not there yet, but wasted points will not help the cause in any way).  But a win on the road is essential, and the odds are in our favor, since a winless streak can’t last forever, can it???

Actually, things were pretty even for the first twenty minutes or so before the first goal was scored. Then things fell apart in a cesspool of lazy passes, slumped heads, and a lack of overall effort. Seventy minutes and three more goals later, the damage was complete and everyone can forget about the proceedings forever.

More recently, the boys welcomed Gimnasia de La Plata in La Paternal for the first home match of the season and things went much better. There is, as always, more to the story. Alejandro Delorte, whose reputation is that he plays well at the smaller field for home matches. And he did not fail to disappoint those who actually believe this. 30 minutes is all it took for him to take himself out of the match, due to some injury that I don’t really care about but I do hope is serious. Hope was quickly restored in the form of Gabriel Pérez–a name you will be reading a lot more of around here, I imagine. Pérez is only a few inches shorter than the aforementioned giant boob and he is so much quicker, more agile, and just plain better that a comparison simply is not fair. Sure enough, His actual talent at soccer paid off for the club as he set up both goals; the first on a long ball near the area that the defender actually sent in Mirosevic’s direction and the second on a long and well-timed run he made to set up Alvaro Pereira’s first goal of this campaign. All in all, he showed his stuff and has been rewarded with a starting spot for this Saturday’s match against Independiente.

I should take time to mention that Mirosevic, in addition to scoring the team’s first goal after 250+ minutes of play, showed that he is a significant upgrade over Cabrera: he’s big, fast, and smart. When he was able to combine with Peñalba, Pérez, Barzola or Hauché (the only players who have ny semblance of ability with the ball at their feet), he made good runs and kept the opposition guessing. Turning the season around and gaining actual points on the road might be possible just because he’s on the field with these others players.

Regarding Delorte, Pérez, and the immediate future, the talk all week had been that he would still be available to RETURN TO THE LINEUP on Saturday…WTF???  The only goals the team has generated all season came BECAUSE he was not on the field.  There is no reason for him to reason to return until the current lineup declines in performance.  Today, reports in the local paper said that he will most likely be on the bech Saturday night, which is fine, because he still probably is the third or fourth best striker on the team.  Nevertheless, Gabriel Pérez will get his first chance to start and, should he perform at the same level he did last week, will remain there for a while…