Various news and notes

1. Happy birthday to me. You’re welcome for reminding everyone. Don’t worry, I had a great time.

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.

Category: Team News

Tags: Team News

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