On the 4th February 2012, the last game of the 2011 Torneo Apertura was finally completed. Estudiantes’ home match against Banfield in the 15th round had been called off 13 minutes in with the score at 1-0 to the visitors back in November, due to crowd trouble. Now the remaining 77 minutes were played in two halves of roughly 38 1/2 minutes (yeah, I think that’s a bit stupid too). Here, you can see the goals – from former Wigan Athletic forward Mauro Boselli, and defender Gabriel Mercado – which turned the game round for Estudiantes to grab a 2-1 win.
Estudiantes 2 – 1 Banfield
The win means Estudiantes, in spite of a woeful 2011, will qualify for a Copa Sudamericana 2012 place if Tigre – currently qualified but with relegation worries – can’t climb out of the relegation playoff places by the end of the Torneo Clausura.
You can follow the latest news from the selección and Argentina’s foreign legion of players, as well as the domestic championship, River Plate’s first second division campaign in over a century and the ever entertaining/tragic/infuriating capers of Julio Grondona & chums direct from Buenos Aires with HEGS on Twitter. If you’ve not signed up yet you can do so here. You can also join the official HEGS Facebook group, to keep up to date with the latest posts on the blog and discuss things with other fans. You’ll find it here. And remember to bookmark Hand Of Pod, our Argentine football podcast, or if you prefer you can subscribe to it on iTunes here.
Hasta El Gol Siempre 
Has Coco had his throat surgery yet ? If so, does he have the Buonanotte squeak or the Merlo 1,000,000 cigarette growl ?
He has had it done Johnny, but no he doesn’t have the voice he had so feared coming away with. His son tweeted after the operation ‘I’ve just spoken with my dad and he’s got the same voice as always.’
(For those wondering what this is about, Alfio Basile, the new Racing manager, had surgery recently to remove some nodules on his vocal chords. He was advised it might temporarily affect his voice and told the papers, ‘If I come out of hospital with Diego Buonanotte’s voice, I’ll probably kill myself.’)