Saturday night saw the big South American clásico in Rosario as Argentina hosted Brazil in the qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup, and Diego Maradona's reign as manager will be marked forever by the result: Argentina lost a qualifier at home for only the second time in their history. The first was the 0-5 loss... Continue Reading →
International friendly: Russia 2 – 3 Argentina – the goals
Wednesday afternoon saw Russia take on Argentina in a clash of two of FIFA's top ten ranked national sides in a friendly in Lokomotiv Stadium, Moscow. Diego Maradona's men, eager to recover some sort of dignity and continuity to their play after iffy recent performances and results, won against another side known for their neat... Continue Reading →
¡Boca Campeón!
In the end it was the most nail-biting of finishes, as Tigre tried and tried to break down Boca's resistance, but the most incredible of titles wasn't to be. Boca lost the match, 1-0, to a Leandro Lázzaro header midway through the second half - but with all three sides tied on three points in... Continue Reading →
Copa Sudamericana: Boca into the quarters
Boca Juniors became the first Argentine club to book their passage into the quarter-finals of the 2008 Copa Sudamericana on Wednesday night as they got a 1-1 draw against Liga de Quito in the Ecuadorean capital. Boca having won the first leg 4-0 in La Bombonera, the match was about as exciting as one would... Continue Reading →
Ortega and Nieto out on loan, and Boca’s duo are close to the exit
Ariel Ortega agreed with the River Plate board on Tuesday to go out on loan for a season to Mendoza club Independiente Rivadavia, of Primera B Nacional. Ortega turned down the chance to move to the United Arab Emirates to play a season for Al Mir Sports due to the distance from his family and... Continue Reading →
Argentina squad vs. Belarus, and Dátolo to Flu?
As if to prove that he can put together quite a handy team without including the Olympic-bound Lionel Messi, Juan Román Riquelme, Sergio Agüero et al, Alfio Basile has named the Argentina squad to face Belarus in a friendly in Minsk, two weeks from today (Weds). There are a couple of surprises in the all-Europe... 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 →
La Boca cerrada
Copa Libertadores holders Boca Juniors crashed out of the tournament at the semi-final stage on Wednesday night after a thrilling second half in the Maracanã which saw them take the lead through Martín Palermo before hosts Fluminense hit back with a three-goal blitz in the closing half hour. Fluminense, who've never got this far in... Continue Reading →
First class
Estudiantes de La Plata had a tricky task this weekend to atone for their Copa Libertadores elimination at the hands of LDU Quito in midweek, but they've passed the test with flying colours. They hosted third-placed Boca Juniors in the Estadio Municipal de La Plata on Sunday afternoon and, inspired as ever by Juan Sebastián... Continue Reading →
Not the best preparation
Brazilian sides often show a lot of deference to Boca Juniors in the Copa Libertadores, but on Wednesday afternoon in La Bombonera, at 2-0 down Cruzeiro got one back with a stunning strike after 68 minutes to take the wind out of the hosts' sails and give the Brazilians a potentially crucial away goal to take back... Continue Reading →