Independiente and Racing Club played out a pre-season clásico de Avellaneda down by the seaside in Mar del Plata on Saturday night, and the result wasn’t an encouraging one for Racing fans hoping their side will be able to keep up appearances in the Clausura and avoid another relegation battle. With goals from Hernán Fredes, Guillermo Rodríguez and two from Darío Gandín, El Rojo Ran out 4-0 winners. 2009 can only get better for Racing…
The result was made more painful (in so far as anyone actually gives a toss about these pre-season matches) for Racing by the fact that their starters were given such a going over by what was, to all intents and purposes, a reserve Independiente side. Fredes headed the opener after 18 minutes, in spite of some early Racing pressure.
After half time Racing came forward a bit and improved for a while, but Independiente found the space behind their defence and picked them off. ‘Patito‘ Rodríguez got the second after pouncing on an error from Pablo Migliore in the Racing goal, and there followed a quickfire double from Gandín. Three goals in the space of eleven minutes, and what was looking like a deserved but narrow win had turned into a landslide.
Racing are losing Maxi Moralez, and tonight were trying to find a scheme without an enganche to allow for that fact. Clearly, they’ve not come across it yet. Miguel Angel Santoro at Independiente, meanwhile, still has a few pieces of his own jigsaw missing since joining his new side. The search for those looks to be going rather better, so far…
Hasta El Gol Siempre 
I’m not going to comment on a match I didn’t see and I didn’t consider serious or relevant (not being bitter for the defeat, I said it before hand that I don’t like Torneos de Verano).
I’m just hear to tell you what I just heard on TV.
Maxi Moralez is on the verge of signing for Velez. This is the worst piece of news this summer for me.
No signs of a decent player coming in to Racing to replace Maxi and the little one is going to a league rival.
I’m not going to be on the back of Molina (the new president) so soon because the economical situation with Maxi and Blanquiceleste and probably the relationship between the player and manager Llop were in the middle, but I’m not happy at all with him saying many times that Maxi would stay and that Papu Gomez from Arsenal was already a done deal, etc.
I’ll be waiting for him to deliver the goods or else…we’re going to get hammered when it matters like we have been on Saturday.
And now that transfer’s gone through, Seba. That’s a surprise – I expected Maxi to go back to Moscow and start agitating for a transfer to western Europe as soon as possible. The way scouting is now he’ll be as visible at Vélez as anywhere else, but I didn’t think he’d go to another Argentine side!