Great points Andrew. I think Independiente are in a far better position than Racing. Yes, I do believe they underachieved lately, but I don’t think they have a great squad. They have a few good players, a number of decent ones and a lot that wouldn’t be playing for them if these were their good times or golden years. I’m not saying they are rubbish, by any means. But they are certainly not up to the standard (and not even close) to what the majority of their supporters are used to.

Independiente have the advantage (over Racing, at least) of being better run. I mean…they sell AGÜERO and they build a new stadium. Racing sell Maxi MORALEZ for 7 million dollars and and then bring him on loan for 2!

But back to what brings us here. I think the new stadium will be a boost in their morale. No doubt. But I don’t think it’ll be a great source for revenue (at least it won’t be superior to the one they have at the moment -which holds more spectators, by the way-). You see…in terms of global economy, what the clubs can charge for admission fees in Argentina can’t compete with the European/Asian/North American clubs. But players are still earning good salaries here and the expenses are never met by the income in this part of the world.

Independiente will never close the gap with Boca and River. Period.

I wish it was the 60′s or 70′s again! Even the 80′s. But those days are long gone!

Also they don’t exactly have a low-profile team that is poor on talent. Whenever they finally sell Sosa and Denis they will make a pretty penny and the youngsters coming through the youth system look to be high quality (see Pato Rodriguez, Assman, Churin, Calello, etc.) I think they have just underachieved for the past few seasons, but they look to have a pretty good club set-up.

Racing on the other hand…

Let’s put things into perspective here.

1. Independiente’s supporters brag about how they like attractive, offensive football and they don’t like their team to play long balls or ultra-defensive systems. That’s how it’s been since as long as I, or anyone, can remember.

2. Pedro Troglio said the week before their match at La Bombonera: “If we beat Boca we’ll officially become men”. WOW! What a piece of a statement! What now? You didn’t win. What are you? Women? Martians?

Combined these two with the fact that Independiente were ahead and playing 11 vs 10 only to sit back and concede an equalizer and you’ve got this strong reaction.

There is, however, another thing no fan should ignore. Ever since the TV got “married” with the AFA, the gap between Boca and River and the rest of the clubs grew out of proportions. That’s pretty obvious to anyone who follows Argie footy.

Now…what happened to the other 3 of the big 5. Maybe not so much San Lorenzo, because they have the backing of one of the biggest TV stars in Argentina and are (mostly) a well-run club. But Racing and Independiente have not only suffered the increase of that gap between them and the Big2, but the rest of the pack are now getting really close to the Avellaneda Giants.

But both sets of supporters are having a tough time understanding that. They (or at least 99% of them) still want them to beat Boca or River away, or to play in the International Cups or to win titles and the pressure they put on their players is beyond reality!

Racing fans are slowly (and forced by the relegation fight) starting to realise about this and they are lowering their expectation levels to the minimum.

Independiente’s fans are a long way from doing that, but I think they should start sooner rather than later.

Or else…you’ll see manager changes 3 or 4 times per season, which will lead to worse and worse results and the snow ball will never stop.

Frankly…I don’t see a way out of this for both, Racing and Independiente other than a gigantic cash splash by some very wealthy men (but as a football romantic, I’d hate to see that).