Sunday brought five matches in the Superliga, starting rather ridiculously at 11 in the morning, because for some reason the AFA and the Superliga think Racing v Patronato will compete in the European television market if they schedule it at that time (I'd have thought they'd want to avoid competing with Europe's own leagues for that... Continue Reading →
All the weekend’s Superliga highlights: Boca and River both get last-minute winners ahead of the Supercopa
A family birthday meant I had a very full weekend and barely had time to watch most of the nineteenth round of Superliga action; nor did I manage to get these videos up on the evening the Superliga YouTube account published them, as I've been trying to do lately. So here are no fewer than... Continue Reading →
Monday Superliga highlights: Independiente thrash San Martín and Argentinos shock Boca
Monday evening in the Superliga brought three games and seven goals. Juan Otero got the only one of the game in La Plata, where Estudiantes bucked the trend of what has been a topsy-turvy round of fixtures by actually winning a match they were expected to win. While they were doing that, over in San... Continue Reading →
Copa Libertadores highlights: Estudiantes and River both start with away draws
Wednesday night brought two more matches for Argentine clubs in South America's premier club competition, and neither one will go down as a classic for the ages. First, Estudiantes de La Plata visited Gran Parque Central in Montevideo, to take on Uruguayan giants Nacional. They headed back across the estuary with a 0-0 draw under... Continue Reading →
Friday and Saturday Superliga highlights: Racing hold off Lanús, and Central tonk Olimpo
Friday and Saturday brought seven matches and twenty goals in the sixteenth round of Superliga action. On Friday evening, Estudiantes beat Unión 2-0 in La Plata, before one of the most attractive fixtures of the weekend saw Racing beat Lanús 3-1 in Avellaneda, with Ricardo Centurión again among the scorers. Gabriel Heinze pronounced himself pleased... Continue Reading →
Saturday’s Superliga highlights: Patronato beat Vélez; Racing make it two in a row
Saturday only featured three Superliga matches, because San Lorenzo v Independiente has been postponed to allow Independiente time to prepare for the Recopa Sudamericana (the South American Supercup). We had the clásico de La Plata, which turned out to be a less than thrilling affair in which Estudiantes probably should have got an away win over... Continue Reading →
Superliga Sunday highlights: Lautaro Martínez bags a hat trick; San Lorenzo and Boca draw
One of the most sought-after youngsters in world football, Lautaro Martínez has already been linked with Real Madrid, Atlético de Madrid and Bayern München, but now looks likely to agree a deal with Internazionale. On Sunday, in the fourteenth round of Superliga action, he hit a fine hat trick (and won the penalty which led... Continue Reading →
Monday Superliga highlights: Estudiantes end Independiente’s unbeaten run
Monday evening brought with it the conclusion of round 13 of the Superliga, and the end of Independiente's eight-game unbeaten run in the league as Estudiantes came from behind to win in Avellaneda, thanks to a horrendous mistake from Martín Campaña. Earlier, Atlético Tucumán got the biggest win of the round against Temperley, and Gimnasia... Continue Reading →
Hand Of Pod 262: the season review
The two hundred and sixty-second episode of the best and worst English-language Argentine football podcast on the internet is up now. In it, I talk to Andrés about Boca's title win, what's left to decide continental qualification next year, our team (or rather, squad) of the season – which you can see over on the HOP... Continue Reading →
Which Argentine clubs are playing in next year’s continental cups?
The Argentine Primera División season is over, and the era of thirty-team championships goes with it; with four teams going down and just two coming up (we don't know whom yet, because the B Nacional still has between five and six rounds left to play), the 2017-18 season will 'only' include twenty-eight sides. You can... Continue Reading →