So it wasn’t just Gonzalo who had an amazing time on the pitch last night. His older bro’, Federico aka the Other Higuain Hermano also helped his team to score against Boca Juniors later in the day. But never underestimate Martin Palermoooo, Godoy Cruz! He’s full of surprises and as the Clausura’s leading goal-scorer (at the mo), he had to do something to salvage a point.
Still, the Godoy Cruz fans are such a passionate bunch. You have to give it to them… Cómo inspirar!
Check out this policeman – he’s really smiling and posing for the photo and holding on to Riquelme like there’s no tomorrow. Sneaky! “Look Jorge, I’m holding the bloke.. the famous one in the Adidas ad. You can go and take Martin Palermo for all I care, ” was the unwritten agreement in the Security Room.
There’s a lot of talk in Argentina now about the return of Roman to The Dona’s squad. As many of you know, they had a pretty bad fall out which led to Roman leaving the team eventually. As usual, any player who hasn’t won the World Cup feels an itch around their fingers at this time of the year. So obviously, the Argentinean presses are excited to speculate.
“Knowing Diego, the issue of Riquelme is very complicated and I do not think things will change,” said a member of Argentina’s coaching staff.
¡Qué trágico! for poor Diego Buonanotte. If you haven’t heard, the influential River Plate midfielder was involved in a fatal car crash – which killed three of his friends on Saturday. And according to the Argentinean dailies, Diego, who is in the hospital now frequently wakes up in the middle of the night asking “what happened? what happened?” From time to time, Diego also asks to watch TV.
“In his state, he does not remember much about what happened. He knows that there was an accident, but not everything that happened. So we decided that we will (summon) a special group of psychologists and psychiatrists to address the situation. It will be between hospital professionals and River Plate,” explained Diego’s doctor, Horacio Cavaliere. He added that the recovery process will take at least seven months and he is optimistic because Diego “is a young boy, an athlete, who neither smokes nor drinks alcohol.”
Messages are streaming in from all corners of the world – mostly well-wishes from fans of River Plate who want a speedy recovery for him. Even their arch rivals, Boca Juniors said : “Fuerza Diego. We are with Buonanotte in this difficult time.”
113 years. That’s how long Argentina’s Banfield took to claim their first Apertura title! But that’s how long it’s also going to take AC Milan to find a new president as well…
Interestingly, Banfield, a city in Buenos Aires was founded in 1896 by English, Irish and Scottish immigrants. Their closest opponents – Newell’s Old Boys(at 39 points) also have English roots. Their 2-0 to San Lorenzo allowed Banfield an advantage over the slip-up. Similarly, Boca Juniors’ 2-0 win over Banfield weren’t able to prevent their claim of the title.
“We lost today, but without a doubt we were the best. There’s no doubt we deserved the championship,” Banfield coach Julio Cesar Falcioni said.
Poor Gago, he’s become the very thing we futbolitas must refrain ourselves from getting excited about.. which is the “Todos Guapos Y Sin Talento” (All Looks And No Talent) or TGST breed. All you masculine types are already rolling your eyes and murmuring “I told you so” but lighten up lads, we could not have predicted the fall of Gago this quickly. And he still has a future at Milan Fashion week!
Anyway, Gago the player is turning out to be a major flop and each time he touches the ball at the Bernabeu (observed the fervent Argentinean press), the stadium erupts into a sea of whistles. He has now expressed a desire to return to Boca, his boyhood club and even Alfio Basile is excited about that prospect.
Well, knowing Potter Perez’s strategy, he’d want to “reclaim some of the investment” he made in Gago (kkkk, not in that way). Second, Pellegrini doesn’t have many players who can take over Gago’s position and that’s not good. Well, it’d be better if Gago moved to Italy instead. It’s a lot slower paced there and the fans love you more…. not to forget, he can totally be the next face of Armani.
So it was Mask Wearing Extraordinaire, Martin Palermo’s birthday yesterday (a November baby, like us. Now get running with that hint!) so Boca Juniors helped him to celebrate 36 years of his existence in this world. He’s still a hero to Los Xeneizes after all he has done for the club – including his important goals against River Plate. Seriously, this man may have had his down points but if Boca pack loves you, they’ll love you for life. Hopefully.
“Palermo is an Idol and he was an idol since 1998..he’s our star, like Roman,” says a Boca-crazy futbolita. Ok, that’s covered at least.
Unfortunately, Alfio Basile aka Ursula didn’t have time to eat cake yesterday following Boca’s dismal 0-0 draw with Colon. The fans sang and encouraged them while Riquelme watched from the stands… but nothing was done. The Argentinean dailies claim that Basile’s time is over and it’s time to say adios, but could it be the right time to take out the cheque books?
So in the end, Alfio Basile’s army weren’t able to obtain a crucial away victory against Los Millionares (how dare you mistake them for Chamillionaire!) but at least they came away with a 1-1 draw. As expected, El Monumental had all the ingredients for an emotional game and things got heated when Ariel Ortega hit his arm on Boca’s defender, Julio Caceres’ neck. The Paraguayan got pissed and was subsequently sent off for ‘retaliating’. Apparently, Ortega fell to the floor like a baby. For the love of The Dona, it’s a soap opera!!
Surprisingly, River dominated the first half of play and won a penalty but Boca’s keeper, Pato Abbondanzieri (they’re not all Webcam Kings, ok?) pulled off a fine save to keep the score 0-0. Then Marcelo Gallardo’s stunning free kick broke the deadlock…. es demasiado grande para las palabras! Martin Palermo levelled the score upon removing his phantom mask in the second half. Hah, Riquelme was wrong after all.
River’s Matías Abelairas, whose effort slipped off the post in the dying minutes of the game said :”I will not sleep. I will review the play several times. I tried to do my best and hit the ball first because two defenders were coming for me. I saw (the play) in the locker room, the summary … and I think I did the right thing … It was a matter of inches and I could not fulfill my dream: to score a goal against Boca.”
Well tipo, there’s always the next time.
So apparently, Riquelme says that his teammate, Martin Palermo’s mask-wearing antics has helped him to score more goals at Boca’s training sessions. He wants him to wear it for the game so that they can ’score more goals together’. Kkkkk…
Anyway, he also added that Boca must be careful in the Superclasico against River this weekend or risk “paying dearly”. “I love football and I see that River had great moments but was unlucky not to win (the last game) because they missed a lot of goals. I want to enjoy the most, hopefully we can win and continue improving,” he said.
Our amigas in Buenos Aires may not have tickets to watch the game… but Roman still wants you to sing! “I want to give joy to people. Despite the few tickets they give us, the fans are still going to encourage (us). It was nicer when there were more visitors at the Bombonera. Despite the 4,000 tickets they gave us, the fans are going to listen. And we’re going to have to play to sing, be enthusiastic and enjoy.”
Meanwhile, you know you want Palermo’s mask….
via Ole
Don’t you love it when futbolitos do that to the camera? We do! And Nicolas Gaitan has every reason to celebrate after scoring a brace in Boca’s 2-1 triumph over Tigre yesterday. Alfio Basile’s men have been fighting hard this season so we should stop calling him Ursula. Maybe he ought to pay Leonardo a visit… they can both enjoy celebratory drinks courtesy of Potter Perez.
Anyway, Los Xeneizes needed a win this week to take them through to the next game. After all, they will be meeting old foes River Plate next weekend. Well, they’re both nowhere at the top of the table, but everyone knows the rivalry is still fierce. Que no se puede negar que!
In Sunday’s other matches, Independiente drew 1-1 with Chacarita Juniors while Newell’s Old Boys defeated Estudiantes de La Plata 2-1.
The Pied Piper of Higuain may have opened the scoring for Los Albicelestes but it was Martin Palermo’s close-range effort that secured a crucial win 2-1 win over Peru last night. The Dona actually dived into the wet grass – on his stomach – in celebration. Lighten up, uncle. You don’t want the empanados to be flattened. He’s lucky that the Rain Gods approved of Palermo – except that the Boca man’s goal was ten years into the making.
“The victory gives us new life,” said The Dona. “It was a very dramatic finish. Now we go to Uruguay to play for a place in the World Cup.” And because ya’ll are in love with him, here you go…
That mop of hair Riquelme is smoldering belongs to none other than the Messiah. Obviously times have changed and one year on, no one would have anticipated his fall out with The Dona. And and if the rumours are true, Riquelme will be joining the Timão gatos at Corinthians next season. It’ll be pretty cool to see him with Ronaldo Lima… maybe even better than watching Veterans Football F.C that Milan are offering now!
“Corinthians called my representative several times,” Riquelme told Ole. “I don’t know if I’ll be contacting the club, but I’m right here. I have an important year ahead and want to do the best I can (for Boca). Let’s see if I am lucky to be champion again and after June 30, we’ll see what we’ll do.” Anyway, the rumored sum is believed to be U.S.$5 million a season and don’t worry, this does not include a large payout to Tevez’s shady agents.
So the Albicelestes are facing another crisis – and this time, it involves a rift between The Dona and the squad’s general manager and former midfielder, Carlos Bilardo. Can’t anybody get along anymore?!
Anyway, it’s common knowledge that the coach didn’t call up any Europe-based players for Argentina’s friendly against Ghana tomorrow but now, it seems that The Dona has told Bilardo to “stay out of his decisions” because he “prefers a distance”. Bilardo also feeling bitter because apparently, his role as ‘general manager’ has been disregarded. He does not get a say in player selections or other decisions The Dona makes. Basically, his job is “to go and see the stadium and hotel.” Es insultante!
Also, according to Ole, Maradona told Bilardo that “the player lists, meetings … It’s all in the computer,” before adding: “After qualifying, we’ll see (what happens with you).”
Meanwhile, Boca’s Martin Palermo is hopeful that his performance on Wednesday will earn him a place in Argentina’s remaining crucial qualifiers. “(We) must seize the game if we have a chance to play in Wednesday’s friendly. We must be able to do things (in) the best way possible, to live for the moment, and then wait. Hopefully I can play against Peru and Uruguay,” he said.
Even the presence of newly-crowned US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro - a noted member of the Los Xeneizes family didn’t bring Boca Juniors the luck they needed yesterday.
Cristian Chavez scored the decisive 90th-minute winner for Godoy Cruz as they defeated Boca Juniors 3-2 at the Bombonera stadium. Talk about a last minute comeback… Boca can’t afford to doze off if they want their points! Anyway, Matias Jara and Federico Higuain (Gonzalo Higuain’s older brother) scored in the sixth and 77th minutes for Godoy, while Sebastian Battaglia and Gary Medel netted in for the home side. Medel was sent off in the 76th. Maybe he wanted del Potro’s autograph….
Also… this just in! Coach Alfio Basile handed in his resignation to Boca’s manager, Carlos Bianchi immediately after the defeat. The journos at Ole tracked him down at his hotel room and Basile seemed exasperated about the squad in general. “I do not know how to motivate them, ” he said. Oooh, scandal!
[Photo via Reuters]
via GettyImages
All the attention is on River Plate this weekend, but of course the best photos were from Los Xeneizes‘ camp. Martin Palermo and Gabriel Paletta are muy feliz and rightly so, after Boca were able to escape with a 2-1 win over Lanus without the services of Riquelme. Palmermo scored the winning goal!
In another game, River defeated newly-promoted Chacarita Juniors 4-3 thanks to goals from Diego Buonanotte and Gustavo Cabral’s header from a corner in the 32nd before their veteran striker Ariel Ortega fired the winner. Matias Alustiza leveled each time for Chacarita, finishing well in the 23rd and scoring a penalty in first-half injury time.
In other Sunday matches, Independiente won 4-2 away against Atletico Tucuman and Newell’s Old Boys beat Huracan 1-0 at home.
So the Argie press are hailing Guillermo Marino for saving Boca’s blushes when he came off the bench to score two goals yesterday against Argentinos Juniors. Riquelme was out on a one-match ban and as for Alfio Basile, it was his first official game in charge of these tipos. Still, Ursula was happy with the performance so far…
“The team did not do anything right in the first half and my players knew it. But luckily, after the talk in the locker room, they knew they had to play better,” he said.
Meanwhile, Boca’s rivals River Plate fell to a 2-0 defeat in the hands of Banfield after their two Uruguay strikers, Santiago Silva and Sebastian Fernandez netted in a goal each. As for San Lorenzo, one of Argentina’s “big five”, they beat Atletico de Tucuman 3-1 on Saturday.
via AP
GOALKEEPERS : Juan Pablo Carrizo (Zaragoza, ESP), Mariano Andújar (Catania, ITA) and Sergio Romero (AZ Alkmaar, HOL).
DEFENDERS : Javier Zanetti (Inter, ITA), Nicolás Pareja (Espanyol, ESP), Fabricio Coloccini (Newcastle, GBR), Gabriel Heinze (Olympique de Marselha, FRA) and Nicolás Burdisso (Inter, ITA).
MIDFIELDERS: Fernando Gago (Real Madrid, ESP), Javier Mascherano (Liverpool, GBR), Maxi Rodríguez (Atlético Madri, ESP), Jesús Dátolo (Napoli, ITA) and Jonás Gutiérrez (Newcastle, GBR).
ATTACKERS: Carlos Tévez (Manchester City, GBR), Lionel Messi (Barcelona, ESP), Sergio Agüero (Atlético de Madri, ESP), Diego Milito (Inter, ITA), Lisandro López (Olympique Lyon, FRA) and Ezequiel Lavezzi (Napoli, ITA).
via Photogamma
The Boca boys didn’t have much to do yesterday (apart from their laundry, etc) since the AFA postponed the start of the Apertura. So it was only natural that Javier García, Lucas Viatri, Ricardo Noir and Juan Forlin turned up at the infamous DOT shopping centre in Buenos Aires to reveal Los Xeneizes’ new kit.
So what’s new? Nothing much, except for the collar. These people need to start hiring new designers instead of the ones who work for Milan.
In other Boca news, coach Ursula Basile has announced that no one can touch Riquelme... not even Corinthians who’re apparently crazy about him.
“The only player who has the doors closed here is Riquelme, and with a lock (geez!),” Basile told Clarin. “He still has one more year on his contract and he returned to Boca to end his career.”
via REUTERS
So after days of intense discussions about the state of the Argentinean championship , the AFA finally reached a decision about the start of the country’s domestic league. The first game is scheduled for kick off on 21st August (as opposed to the 14th – this weekend).
“From tonight the AFA is open to future negotiations to sell (the TV rights) as it corresponds to the price that football is worth,” said the league’s spokesperson at a news conference. “I do not know if the state is going to fulfill some role.”
The last we checked, Julio Grondona (above) still hasn’t bought a full-length mirror but nevertheless, he’d best focus on making the fans happy before clubs send their respective Ultras to his front door!!
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