In the second Promoción between Primera A and B Nacional, Atlético Rafaela hosted Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata on Thursday afternoon in the first leg. The result was the heaviest win for a B Nacional side over a Primera A team since the Promoción was introduced, courtesy of a hat trick from striker Aldo Visconti.
Visconti actually doubled his tally for 2008-2009 this afternoon, having only scored three times during the whole of the B Nacional season prior to this match. His first, on 15 minutes, came as Gimnasia’s defence ‘let the tortoise escape them,’ to use a phrase of Diego Maradona’s, reacting incredibly slowly to a long ball over the top and watching on in admiration as Visconti smacked it into the net.
It took until nearly twenty minutes after the break for Visconti to add his second, poking home after a corner which shouldn’t have been given had been clawed out from swinging in under the crossbar by Gastón Sessa in the Gimnasia goal. Five minutes later, He was partially atoning for the nature of that goal by scoring a genuine stunner, volleying in a near-40-yard hanging, high cross with the outside of his right foot to put the game well and truly beyond Gimnasia.
Things got worse for Gimnasia as Denis Stracqualursi, who’d been on the pitch a matter of six or so minutes (during which Visconti had scored his third goal) crashed into an opponent and saw the red card. Atlético beat Gimnasia both times when these sides were both in the Primera A, and got their third win in as many matches today. If Gimnasia are going to stay in the top flight, they’re going to have to turn that run round in spectacular fashion.
Atlético Rafaela 3 – 0 Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata (1st leg Promoción, 9th July 2009)
Hasta El Gol Siempre 
Let’s go Rafaela ! Put a nail in ’em. I like having more clubs involved in top flight competition from all around the country. Not just the BsAs-La Plata area.
Hmmmm….Central or Belgrano ? A tough one. Lose a Rosario team, or add one from Cordoba ? A coin toss for me.
Gimnasia have contributed so much since I’ve been following fútbol argentino, there’s no way I want them to go down!
I hope every Racing fan is cheering them on today. I’m not very hopeful, but amazing turnarounds can happen.
Rafaela will only last a season anyway. Which would be good for Racing, I suppose. Their star-striker is a 32 year old that no-one has heard of, their best defender is Menghi, I really don’t think they can make any impact on the Primera.
Central will be in no danger in the other game, I would put my house on them to come through.
Great banner from one of the Gimnasia fans –
‘My love knows no divisions – what will be will be’.
Real fans of a real club. DALE LOBO!
Does anyone know why they are called ‘La Crema’?
No idea about La Crema, wikipedia doesn’t even mention it.
Have a bad feeling about this game, I think Pampa Sosa would’ve converted at least one of the chances Alonso has missed, but to scroe three in 45 minutes and not concede, it’s a tall order. :-(
I love that song from Los Auténticos Decadentes they keep playing on the Paso A Paso advert on TyC Internacional. I downloaded it to my ITunes, they’re probably like ‘why is someone in England downloading our songs??’
They’re just showing the handball incident. I’ve seen them given. Poor Gimnasia. :-(
This game is a perfect example of why they should scrap these play-offs.
Horrible to watch now.
GOOOOOLLLL – Now, ten minutes of injury time please!!!
Ha ha. 3-3. Amazing.
I mean 3-0 ! :)
VAMOS GIMNASIA!
What a thriller!
Talk about Liverpool in Istambul? Hahahaha!
Those fans. Those players. That club…they all deserve to stay up.
I like Rafaela too, but Gimnasia is closer to my heart. WHAT A THRILLER!
VAMOS LOBO! FELICITACIONES!
Two headers from NEILL? Are you having a laugh???
JA JA JA Seba, he must be one of the smallest players in the squad!
Funnily enough, maybe Sosa helped them by getting sent off.
Was Menghi back on the pitch when Neill scored his first? It was all happening so fast.
Unadulterated joy and agony. I guess that’s why (plus the dinero) they don’t scrap these things. Amazing drama. I wish they had relegation in big time sports in the states. The brutal reality of it is wonderful.
JAJAJAJAJA!!!
Was jumping around the room, knocked the chair off its castors when Neill’s header went in! I’m absolutely thrilled for those fans, they so deserve it!
Lovely to see San Esteban in those celebrations too, he is such a symbol of Gimnasia’s great days. Maybe they’ll come back to that level again. I’d love to see them second place to Racing :-)
Who said they should scrap these play-offs? Haha!
Seba, why do you think the fans deserve to stay up?
Us football fans are the most hypocritical people of all ha ha!!
Of course I enjoyed the ending, and if in 12 months, Independiente are in one of these play-offs and look like losing to Unión Santa Fe or someone, I’ll be on here saying ‘these play-offs are great, I’m glad AFA have them!’ :-)
I’ll say the fans deserve to stay up because they stay loyal to the side through all the disappointments – and there have been many for Gimnasia, 95, 96, 05, they should have three stars on their shirts and have none.
I remember 15 years ago when they lost to Independiente and the sad faces of the fans that night, I hope some of those people I saw then were enjoying it tonight.
AND it’s good for Argentine football. Rafaela would have lost game after game and be relegated by Easter. Gimnasia have long been able to tilt at the biggest clubs, they have a great recent record against Independiente, have won in the Monumental and Bombonera recently, (Bombonera 3 weeks ago lol), and could you ever imagine Rafaela going there and winning 6-0 like the great 1996 side did?
First of all, I’m not against the promoción. I’m against the promedios. Which is a different thing.
I would keep the promoción, but I’d make the third and fourth best teams from the current season to play it (not the third and fourth worst promedio from the previous 114 matches! That’s bollocks!).
Gimnasia finished 9th if you combine the Apertura and the Clausura. How is that fair on the current manager and players?
Anyway…I think Gimnasia fans deserve to stay up because they always bring numerous traveling supporters to any stadium, but especially because they ALWAYS support the team. Through THIN AND THIN!
Come to think of this…their neighbours keep winning things and keep playing international matches. Can you imagine those Gimnasia fans having to put up with Estudiantes fans as they got relegated and their rivals won the Copa Libertadores on Wednesday (two very probable scenarios until the 90th minute of Today’s game!).
Now they can watch that match between Estudiantes and Cruzeiro with nothing to be worried about. No pressures.
They’ve earned it. And I’m happy for them.
About promedios, I would like to make it even more complicated. See I like the underlying idea of the promedios: The retention of teams which can preform well over a period of time. But 3 years for established teams and do or die for newly promoted teams isnt fair. how about 3 seasons instead? And add a safety net for new teams so they can have the chance to accumulate 3 seasons (1 year 6 months) worth of results by which they can be fairly compared to the established teams? Keep the torneos short and kill the playoff. straight in/out. Should add plenty of color to each season.
AHA! Dumb idea no?
Brain is very tired, wrote all of that out without proper logic, who on earth would agree to a 1 year and a half relegation system, guarantee a year of play but drop em mid season the next !! ROTFL!!!
Ok, revised concept. 2 years to accumulate points. then compare. If a team hasnt played enough for 2 years worth drop the next lowest who have. It would still save river but still drop teams that go nowhere year in year out, Arsenal de Sarandi and Banfield, recycling them with two newer teams that surprise about as often as older teams used to, Godoy Cruz and San Martin de Tucuman. And other 2 newly promoted teams get a chance to show their stuff for 2 years, after the cycle repeats, every year the teams that dont do anything get recycled by Atletico Tucuman and Chacarita. 2 other Nacional B sides get thier chance and so on.
Everything being done in twos, it will work! really! if river doesnt recover then they are gone next year, same with independiente. and they wont be able to say they didnt have a chance.
Thats a relegation id stand by. if you had a bad year you can recover. so grondona still has his big teams not losing the sponsorship monies, but if they suck for too long they they really shouldnt be in primera. so it’s easier to relegate those big 5 . Pull of a season like racing did this year, and they are still up, up in fact near the top of this new relegation standard. boca drops lower, and quicker in the standings. It’s perfect balance of the wishes of small teams and big 5.
Mike, first of all three short tournaments is still one-and-a-half seasons. There are two short tournaments per season, as recognised by the AFA in calling them the ‘Apertura’ and ‘Clausura’.
Secondly, and getting on to personal preference, I have to say I’d rather Argentina just scrapped the promedios altogether and had a proper relegation and promotion system. Anything else is plainly designed to protect the big boys – with no disrespect to River or Independiente, why SHOULD River and Independiente be able to say they had more of a chance? Being two of the biggest and most influential clubs in the league should be enough of an advantage as it is.
La Crema nickname is mostly because in Santa Fe, the main industry is Diary, with all of the largest milk corporations, La Serenisima and SanCor having HQ’s there in Rafaela, it is the 3rd largest city of Santa Fe. SanCor is the sponsor of Atl Rafaela and have been for quite awhile
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuenca_lechera
Thanks Mike, that’s interesting because I always wondered why Colón had such a seemingly strange sponsor as Milkaut a few years ago.
make that HQ’s “near” Rafaela (SanCor HQ is in Sunchales, La Serenisima has a major hub in Santa Fe but HQ in BSAS)…
after looking into it, it’s another pair of companies based in Rafaela, the canadian multinational Saputo (La Paulina/Molfino brands) and Ilolay