Welcome back to your weekly roundup of the Argentine Primera Division, the league where everything can run smoothly for hours at a time, before a funny look or misheard remark means all hell breaks loose all of a sudden. It’s mistake-ridden, illogical and everyone involved hates each other, but hey that’s why we love it so much.
I make no attempt to hide here my support of mighty Racing Club de Avellaneda. Indeed I make no attempt to appear at all impartial when it comes to La Academia; since being introduced to the team in the blue and white stripes by some fanatico friends, the enfermedad of following a football team here has taken me over. (by the way, great result for the boys away at Banfield Sunday, rest assured there will be plenty said on the matter.)
A rather unsettling thought has recently occurred to me however, one which shook me to the core. It’s that Racing Club are, to all intents and purposes, the Argentine version of Newcastle United. Shiver. Now stay with me on this one. Both teams are massive clubs, with correspondingly huge stadia and fans that will follow them through good and bad.
Which is lucky, because what they follow is invariably bad. Both are considered one of the “big clubs” in their countries, a reputation which is at odds with a rather disappointing success record. Racing have won just two league championships in 43 years, which considering two titles are up for grabs every year is pretty poor. Newcastle fare even worse, having last won the title in 1927! Lastly, the accents of both supporters are completely impossible to understand for most English people (sorry Geordies!). But the fans continue following the clubs come what may, filling the stadiums, and this is one of the things I love most about the game of football- it’s complete divorce from reality and logic.
Onto the results of Fecha 16, and obviously only one place to start:
A Result No-One Envisaged:
On paper Banfield should have strolled to a home win over Racing Club. El Taladro were unbeaten throughout the entire Apertura, while the Avellaneda outfit had failed to win away from home. But La Academia refused to read the script, and finished deserved 2-1 victors over the league leaders. Matías Martinez opened the scoring for Racing after just 8 minutes after steering in a cross, only for prolific striker Santiago Silva to equalise minutes later. The game was deadlocked with 25 minutes remaining, before midfielder Gabriel Mercado converted a “supersonic Racing counter-attack” (thanks Clarín) to secure all three points. Banfield must now hope this blip was a one-off and won’t damage their title hopes, with only 3 games remaining.
And Newell’s Take Advantage:
As Banfield slipped up title rivals Newell´s Old Boys swooped in with a 1-0 win over third place Colón in Santa Fe, to go one point clear at the top of the table. Uruguayan Joaquín Boghossian was once more the hero for Los Leprosos, beating two men and firing in across the body of the keeper for the only goal of the game. This championship looks set to go right down to the wire folks…
Relegation Dogfight:
Meanwhile on Saturday Chacarita Juniors and Godoy Cruz battled to earn valuable points and get out of trouble at the bottom of the table. Chaca were undoubtedly the more enterprising team, but again defensive fragility let Los Funebreros down and the match entered stoppage time 1-1. Then however everything went crazy. Chaca threw everything at Godoy, who also had Leonardo Sigal expelled for a senseless stamp. Diego Morales then found space in the Godoy area with 49 minutes played, and fired home to the delight of the home fans.
Sorry Boca Thrashed and Other Highlights:
Boca Juniors were given a football lesson away to San Lorenzo, well beaten 3-0 in a disappointing performance. 2 goals from the exceptional defender Gaston Aguirre meant the result was never in question, and after the match Boca coach “Coco” Basile came in for harsh criticism from both fans and the media. Elsewhere Independiente & Velez both registered victories to keep title hopes alive, defeating Huracán & Tigre respectively. Estudiantes meanwhile could not capitalise on Banfield’s defeat and close on the leaders, only drawing 1-1 away to River Plate.
Full Results of Fecha 16:
Rosario Ctral. 1 1 At. Tucumán
Independiente 2 0 Huracán
Chacarita Jrs. 2 1 Godoy Cruz (Mza.)
River Plate 1 1 Estudiantes L.P.
San Lorenzo 3 0 Boca Jrs.
Tigre 0 3 Vélez Sarsfield
Banfield 1 2 Racing Club
Arsenal F.C. 2 5 Lanús
Colón 0 1 N.O. Boys
G. y Esgrima L.P. 1 2 Argentinos Jrs.
Thing I Like About Argentine Football of the Week:
In English football only the “big four” have any chance of lifting the title, due to the fabulous riches afforded by the Champions League. Little clubs do not get a look in. Not so in Argentina. While there is indeed a “big five” here, they by no means have a monopoly on success, due to the high turnover of personnel disappearing to Europe and much closer financial power between clubs. Last year Club Huracán came within a whisker of the Clausura, while now unheralded Banfield have a decent chance of winning the Apertura. Imagine a team such as West Ham or Wigan even getting close to the title. Some statistics to throw your way: since the start of the Premiership in 1993, only four teams have won it. In the same period in Argentina, nine different teams have finished as champions. This can only be a good thing for domestic football.
So that’s it for this week in Argentine football. If anyone out there is in Argentina and wants to see a game before the season ends, hurry up! Only three games left to do it. May I suggest Racing-Tigre this Friday in Avellaneda? Anyone? Suerte!