Finally, Bigger Things to Worry About

By: Scott | March 25th, 2008

The team is coming together (somewhat), due to the two-match winning streak and the three-match streak with no losses. This past Saturday night they took it pretty hard to Olimpo de Bahía Blanca and actually disgraced themselves by only winning 1-0.Here are the important things to know about the plastering they put on the recently-promoted, soon-to-be-relegated “soccer team” from the south of Buenos Aires province:

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.