It's been a good long while since I last posted here, but after so many years waiting to write that headline I had to write something. Argentina ended a 28-year wait for a trophy at full international level on Saturday night, and did it in the manner every Argentine fan had dreamed of: in the... Continue Reading →
Who will Argentina turn to as manager after Copa América elimination?
For the sixth time in a row, the final of the Copa América will feature an Argentine manager. Marcelo Bielsa in 2004 and Alfio Basile in 2007 took their homeland to defeats against Brazil, Gerardo Martino was involved for Paraguay in 2011 and Argentina in both 2015 and 2016, and in the latter two, the... Continue Reading →
River Plate begin Libertadores defence away to Alianza Lima: preview and how to watch from the USA
Alianza Lima v River Plate (Wednesday, 19:30 local time/EST, 21:30 ART, 00:30 Thursday GMT) The euphoria of the epic extra-time victory at ‘home’ in the Bernabéu back in December is gone if certainly not forgotten, given the identity of their opponents in that match, for River Plate. The hard work of defending their Copa Libertadores... Continue Reading →
Boca Juniors open their 2019 Libertadores campaign away to Jorge Wilstermann
Jorge Wilstermann v Boca Juniors (Tuesday, 20:30 Cochabamba, 21:30 ART, 19:30 EST, 00:30 Weds GMT) Last year’s Copa Libertadores runners up Boca Juniors begin their quest to go one better on Tuesday night as the group stage of the 2019 competition gets underway. Boca are visiting Cochabamba, Bolivia, to take on Jorge Wilstermann, and readers... Continue Reading →
What Argentine clubs did on their summer holidays: a transfer roundup
The 2017-18 Superliga recommences on Wednesday, when Independiente host Rosario Central in a fixture postponed from the eleventh round of fixtures due to Independiente's involvement in the Copa Sudamericana final. So how have the clubs done in the transfer market and their pre-season friendlies? As I type this, I'm not much wiser about the answer... Continue Reading →
Fortnightly opinion: Guillermo Barros Schelotto joins Boca Juniors
Following Rodolfo Arruabarrena's sacking as Boca Juniors manager on Monday, the club wasted little time appointing a successor, and on Tuesday Guillermo Barros Schelotto was confirmed in charge of the league and Copa Argentina champions. In my latest opinion piece for The Bubble, I look at GBS's demands and his managerial style, to consider whether he... Continue Reading →
Weekly opinion: does Messi’s fifth Ballon d’Or make him the best ever?
In my latest weekly opinion piece for The Bubble, I predictably took a look at Lionel Messi, who won the Ballon d'Or for the World Player of the Year for the fifth time on Monday. Individual awards are a bit daft in a team sport though, in my opinion, so rather than the achievement of winning the... Continue Reading →
Carlos Sánchez is South American Footballer Of The Year for 2015
As one year begins, another has just ended, and on Thursday (that was new year's eve, for those who aren't keeping up), Uruguay's El País announced the results of their annual poll to find the best players and managers in South America. Carlos Sánchez, who's just joined Mexican side Monterrey but played all year for River... Continue Reading →
Argentina v Bosnia-Herzegovina: a couple of World Cup previews
The day is finally upon us. I type at 4am on Sunday, 15th June 2014 - although I have yet to go to bed, for a significant portion of my readership Argentina's World Cup opener against Bosnia-Herzegovina in the new Maracanã is already 'today'. So, ahead of this first test, what are the key points,... Continue Reading →
The World Cup starts today! So apropos of nothing, here’s the whole of the 1986 final
For no other reason than I found it on YouTube a couple of nights ago and thought it would be fun to share for those who want to fill some time whilst waiting for Thursday's opening ceremony and Brazil v Croatia, here's the final of the Mexico '86 World Cup, played between Argentina and West... Continue Reading →
Hasta El Gol Siempre 