The fallout

There was apparently some bad blood in the Boca Juniors squad on their return to training after the 2-0 loss to River Plate in Sunday’s superclásico. Manager Miguel Angel Russo and the rest of Boca’s squad are reportedly furious with Ever Banega for picking up the red card which left them playing with ten men for the entire second half. Elsewhere, a small local provincial club have had a wonderful idea.

Banega was, according to Olé, not the only Boca player who got a stern telling-off from Russo – the entire squad were treated to a 15-minute tongue-lashing – but he was severely castigated for his hopeless challenge on Diego Buonanotte, which brought the second yellow.

So angry is Russo that he’s apparently stripped Banega – who was regarded during the Clausura as one of the club’s brightest young prospects, better even than the then newly-departed Fernando Gago – of his place in the starting XI. Training on Tuesday was hardly all sweetness and light.

There have been other mumblings of club unrest towards players, as Mauricio Pellegrini has spoken out again regarding Juan Román Riquelme’s place in his Villarreal side. ‘He’s not in any agreement with the club,’ said the former River boss, ‘he left the team practically before he was even named in the Argentina squad [for the next week’s World Cup qualifiers].’ Without Riquelme, Villarreal have won 15 out of their last 17 games, and have enjoyed the best start to a league season in their history. So, where’s he going in January?

Finally, news of a terrifically original idea. How anyone could come up with such a daring and evidently ingenious idea as combining anything ‘Che’ Guevara related with a footballing theme is entirely beyond me (ahem), but a club in Córdoba have done just that.

Guevara and his family moved to the city in 1932 on medical advice to try and combat Che’s asthma, in spite of which he was a keen rugby player and goalkeeper for his school and local sides. On the 14th of December 2006 a new club was formed, who now play in the Liga Regional Colón, where it’s probably not too harsh to say they aren’t yet much good, sitting second from bottom of the table. On Tuesday, however, they made headlines in Argentine by dint of their name – Club Social, Atlético y Deportivo Ernesto Che Guevara. Why Tuesday? Because the 9th October 2007 is forty years to the day since Che’s death.

There you go. Not only football news, but also snippets of Latin American history. And, for one day of each year at least, a very appropriate name for a website.