The Olympic Football Tournament kicks off on Thursday (yes, that is before the official start of the Games, which is on Friday), and Argentina, as the defending gold medalists from four years ago in Athens, will be red-hot favourites to retain the title, thanks in large part to an attacking lineup that would terrify most... Continue Reading →
Same old story
HEGS is back, but it feels, I must say, a bit like I hadn't really been away. When I left for Havana, Sergio Batista had named Lionel Messi in the squad for the Olympic Football Tournament, and Barcelona president Joan Laporta was making some decidedly 'we'll have to see about that'-type noises. The novel seems... Continue Reading →
A chapter closed, and a problem of Olympian proportions
After the initial announcement just over a month ago, the day Racing Club fans had been waiting for arrived on Monday. Blanquiceleste, the company who ran the club from 2001 until early June, were signed out of existence by the judges presiding over their case yesterday. Meanwhile, a little to the west of Avellaneda, in... Continue Reading →
Olympic defeat
The bulk of Argentina's Olympic Games squad played a friendly behind closed doors at the AFA's training complex in Ezeiza on Tuesday, and lost 4-2 against a Panamanian side who were notably fitter and more motivated. Whilst the match was only an evalution session for Argentine coach Sergio Batista, Panama have to qualify for the... Continue Reading →
Pre-Olympic friendly: Argentina 5 – 0 Guatemala
The Argentine Olympic football squad had their first preperatory friendly under Sergio Batista's stewardship in the early hours (Argentine time) of Thursday morning, and easily beat Guatemala by five goals to nil. Accepting that their rivals will hardly be challenging for the title themselves, Batista none the less declared himself 'very pleased with the attitude'... Continue Reading →
The Olympic squad, and some transfer news
Sergio Batista named the 15 under-23 players to represent Argentina at the Beijing Olympics on Tuesday, but what with putting up three other stories last night, I thought I'd leave it until now to publish the list. One of those players, River Plate forward Marco Rubén, has now become Villarreal forward Marco Rubén, in what... Continue Reading →
Hasta El Gol Siempre 