Racing played their second clásico in a week on Saturday afternoon, and fell behind away to San Lorenzo before a double strike from a Colombian saved the day and gave La Academia a 2-1 win. It wasn’t Giovanni Moreno, of course, but new boy Teófilo Gutiérrez who got the two goals, which he then dedicated to Gio (and his own family, and God). Lanús had earlier overcome Quilmes 2-1 in El Sur, with two more goals from Diego Valeri. Boca Juniors manager Julio César Falcioni’s decision not to include Juan Román Riquelme in the matchday squad will surely be criticised, meanwhile, after Boca failed to break down an uninspiring All Boys team at La Bombonera, drawing 0-0. All the highlights are right here.
Lanús 2 – 1 Quilmes Atlético Club & San Lorenzo de Almagro 1 – 2 Racing Club
Boca Juniors 0 – 0 All Boys; Nicolás Colazo’s disallowed goal
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Photo taken from ole.clarin.com
Hasta El Gol Siempre 
Johnny’s Boca Update,
The fire gets hotter for Falcioni as the media will now blow on it as hard and long as they can. But I’m hoping Falcioni can withstand the pressure. 0-0 draw with All Boys not withstanding, it is not yet a disastrous situation for Boca. Four points from three matches is not ideal but it’s also not the end of the world. And, not to cry over spilled milk, but it would have been a 1-0 victory had the ref allowed a legit goal near the end of the first period. Instead he fell for the All Boys’ keeper’s “head on the ground in pain, somebody must have kicked him” routine. Ah well, such is futbol.
So what to make of Falcioni’s mind and decisions ? My guess is that he was shaken by the four goals scored by Godoy Cruz in the season opener. So, tighten up defensively. And, zero goals by the opposition since. Boca’s defending was very good last night, particularly in the second period (Though it must be said that Javier Garcia once again came out of goal in search for a cross that he didn’t even get close to. Depth perception issues ? Nerves leading to poor judgement ? I vote for nerves, and unfortunately I expect more of these mistakes in the future).
But the attack ? Wherefore Juan Roman Riquelme ? And Erviti’s place on the chessboard ? Who can say with any certainty ? My guess is that defending is Falcioni’s priority at the moment and then tweak the attack. Roman ? He doesn’t defend. Close to never. Track back ? Forget it !! So, Chavez as a semi enganche who I don’t like much, but he does play hard and he tracks back like a demon. Erviti came on in the second period and looked sure of himself.
Should be an interesting week leading up to an away date with Velez, and then away the week after with San Lorenzo. Not a walk down patsy lane. Is Falcioni telling Roman he will have to get in top shape and play defense, or not play ? Is Falcioni not playing Roman so he can get fit and then be easier for Boca to send him along his unmerry way ? Is Falcioni insuring Roman knows who the boss is, so better toe the line ? And most importantly, does Falcioni have management backing ?
Stay tuned. I vote for Boca moving Roman and letting Erviti run things. Probably a pipedream though.
You’d figure they would of put Evriti in from the start… wouldn’t 90′ of Evriti be better than 30′? Wasn’t the idea that Evriti would be Riquelme’s doppelgänger?
Agreed with Icho. Trying to make sense of what goes on at Boca is always a daunting task, but leaving Erviti out was mighty puzzling.