Clausura 2012: round 16 fixtures

Posted on Friday, 25 May 2012 by

The sixteenth round of the Torneo Apertura is upon us, with San Martín taking on Olimpo in the weekend’s first match (if Olimpo don’t win, they’ll be relegated). Tomorrow, title challengers All Boys (those are four words I never thought I’d write) travel to Lanús, Rafaela host Tigre – who’ll climb out of all relegation trouble for the first time this season if they win – Newell’s Old Boys visit San Lorenzo, Arsenal de Sarandí are away to Estudiantes de La Plata, and leaders Boca Juniors host Godoy Cruz. All the kick off times and referees are right here.

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Posted in 2012 Torneo Clausura, All Boys, B Nacional, Boca Juniors, Fixtures, Newell's Old Boys, Primera A, River Plate, Tigre | Tagged | 2 Comments

Argentina squad v Ecuador (and Brazil)

Posted on Wednesday, 23 May 2012 by

With the season coming to an end, it will soon be time for another double-header of World Cup qualifiers in South America. With hosts Brazil not playing qualifiers, each South American nation has one of these double rounds in which they only play one qualifier rather than the normal two, and this time round it’s Argentina’s turn for that. They’ll play Ecuador on the 2nd June in the Estadio Monumental, and then fly to New York to take on Brazil in a friendly the following weekend. Alejandro Sabella has named the foreign-based players who’ll take part in both matches (the squad will be supplemented with a few domestic-based players for each match; probably different ones). Read on to find out who the players called up are, and for details of how to book on a Football De Tour to Argentina v Ecuador with myself and Daniel Colasimone, if you’re going to be in Buenos Aires on the 2nd June.

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Posted in Alejandro Sabella, Argentine national team, Fernando Gago, Gonzalo Higuaín, Lionel Messi, Sergio Agüero, World Cup Qualifiers | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Clausura 2012: Arsenal de Sarandí see off Lanús and keep pace with the title race

Posted on Tuesday, 22 May 2012 by

Monday brought the end of the fifteenth round of the 2012 Torneo Clausura, and a result which means the last four rounds of the championship are going to be really gripping; Arsenal de Sarandí beat Lanús 3-1, a result which means they’re joint second along with Tigre and Newell’s Old Boys, just a point behind leaders and defending champions Boca Juniors. With All Boys only a further point behind and even sixth-placed Vélez only five off the lead, it’s anyone’s guess who’ll take the title. The goals from Arsenal v Lanús, and all the weekend’s scores, are right here.

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Posted in 2012 Torneo Clausura, Arsenal de Sarandí, Boca Juniors, Goal videos, Lanús, Newell's Old Boys, Primera A, Results, Tigre | Tagged | Leave a comment

Clausura 2012: Viatri is back with a bang for Boca; Belgrano shock Vélez & more (video)

Posted on Monday, 21 May 2012 by

Sunday’s Torneo Clausura matches saw a couple of surprising results, and one spectacular return to Argentine football. Olimpo beat Independiente 2-1 to record their first win in eleven attempts, and Belgrano saw off Vélez Sarsfield 1-0 to reach 52 points for the season. After Atlético Rafaela and Colón had played out a goalless draw, attention turned to the weekend’s clásico, played out in a brilliant atmosphere in Avellaneda, where Boca Juniors returned to the top of the table with a 2-0 win over Racing. The first goal was an inspired effort from Lucas Viatri, who returned to the side after seven months out with a cruciate ligament injury. Prior to all of that, Instituto had beaten Almirante Brown 3-1 to leapfrog River Plate and go second in Nacional B. All the goals are right here.

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Posted in 2012 Torneo Clausura, B Nacional, Belgrano de Córdoba, Boca Juniors, Goal videos, Lucas Viatri, Primera A, Racing Club, Vélez Sarsfield | Tagged | 1 Comment

Clausura 2012: San Lorenzo lose ground; Estudiantes win with ease; River Plate drop to second in Nacional B (video)

Posted on Sunday, 20 May 2012 by

Saturday saw three matches in Argentina’s Primera División. First of all, Estudiantes de La Plata visited Banfield, with Juan Sebastián Verón playing for the second weekend in a row (and going off injured for the second weekend in a row). They won 3-0 against opponents who never gave them any trouble. Later, All Boys beat San Martín de San Juan 1-0 in Floresta thanks to an error from San Martín goalkeeper Lucas Pocrnjic, and Unión got a late winner against San Lorenzo. All those results will be celebrated by Tigre fans, who will finish the weekend above San Lorenzo in the relegation standings, having begun the season 17 points worse off than them. In Nacional B, Rosario Central beat Atlético Tucumán 2-0 and River Plate were held by Guillermo Brown of Puerto Madryn, 2-2 after a stoppage time equaliser from the visitors. That means Central now top the division, with River second, two points behind, pending Instituto de Córdoba’s match on Sunday. Next weekend? Central v River. Hold on to your hats (and in the meantime, watch Saturday’s goals here).

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Posted in 2012 Torneo Clausura, B Nacional, Goal videos, Primera A, River Plate, Rosario Central, San Lorenzo | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Clausura 2012: round 15 fixtures

Posted on Friday, 18 May 2012 by

The fifteenth round of the 2012 Torneo Clausura starts shortly as Godoy Cruz host Argentinos Juniors in Mendoza, and continues later tonight with Tigre taking on league leaders Newell’s Old Boys. Later in the weekend, San Lorenzo travel to Santa Fe to play Unión, Vélez Sarsfield, fresh from beating Santos on Thursday night, host Belgrano, and Boca Juniors make the short trip to Avellaneda to take on Racing. All the kick off times and referees are right here.

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Posted in 2012 Torneo Clausura, B Nacional, Boca Juniors, Fixtures, Godoy Cruz, Newell's Old Boys, Primera A, River Plate | Tagged | 2 Comments

River Plate duo of Cirigliano and Ocampos to lead the club’s push for promotion

Posted on Friday, 18 May 2012 by

This weekend sees the beginning of the endgame for the Argentine second division season; Nacional B has only five matches left to go including this weekend, and with that the pressure builds on River Plate to make their return to the Primera. Leading the way, as they have been all season, will be two youngsters who’ve been stalwarts of the side, and who, even though they’re playing in the second division, have nonetheless been attracting attention of scouts from some of Europe’s big hitters: Ezequiel Cirigliano and Lucas Ocampos. Here’s a quick rundown of the two.

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Posted in B Nacional, Goal videos, Players, River Plate | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Sat & Sun Clausura goals, River put San Lorenzo out of Copa Argentina, & impressive Libertadores wins for Vélez and Boca (video)

Posted on Friday, 18 May 2012 by

Plenty of goals in this post: those that got missed out on Saturday and Sunday, from the fourteenth round of Torneo Clausura matches (including Argentinos Juniors’ 2-1 win over Racing and Tigre’s 1-1 draw away to Colón); Wednesday night’s goals as River Plate beat San Lorenzo 2-0 in the quarter-final of the Copa Argentina, and Thursday night’s two Argentine wins over Brazilian opponents in the Copa Libertadores; Boca Juniors’ 1-0 win over Fluminense and Vélez Sarsfield’s very impressive 1-0 victory over holders Santos. Step this way.

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Posted in 2012 Torneo Clausura, Boca Juniors, Goal videos, Primera A, River Plate, Tigre, Vélez Sarsfield | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Clausura 2012: Verón helps Estudiantes to a win, Arsenal thrash San Martín & the weekend kick off times

Posted on Saturday, 12 May 2012 by

The fourteenth round of the 2012 Torneo Clausura got underway on Friday with two matches. First, Arsenal de Sarandí travelled to San Juan to take on San Martín, and came away with a crushing 4-1 victory which left the home side still firmly rooted in the relegation zone. In La Plata later on, Juan Sebastián Verón slightly surprisingly played for Estudiantes, until coming off injured (for possibly the last time) in the 63rd minute. That wasn’t before he’d set up the only goal of the game against Godoy Cruz though, curling a wonderful free kick onto Leandro Desábato’s head for the centre back to score on the stroke of half time. Both goals – and all Saturday’s and Sunday’s kick off times and referees – are here.

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Posted in 2012 Torneo Clausura, Arsenal de Sarandí, Estudiantes, Fixtures, Goal videos, Godoy Cruz, Primera A, San Martín de San Juan | Tagged ,

Argentines Abroad: getting set for season’s end

Posted on Friday, 11 May 2012 by

Most of Europe’s top leagues come to an end this weekend, so the final full-sized Argentines Abroad of the year gets you ready for the remaining title run-ins in England and France, as well as recapping the action from Spain and Portugal last weekend. Lionel Messi’s world record, Diego Milito’s hat trick in the Milan derby, and more. Step this way.

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Posted in Angel Di María, Diego Milito, Goal videos, Javier Mascherano, Javier Pastore, Lionel Messi, Results, Sergio Agüero | Tagged , | 1 Comment