Wednesday brought the news that Cristian Fabbiani will be staying with Newell's Old Boys after his attempted signing by River Plate finally fell through, and a late equaliser ensured they could only draw with San Lorenzo in their final Torneo de Verano match (Boca having claimed the summer title by beating Racing 2-0 on Tuesday... Continue Reading →
Sudamericano goals, and some summer scores
It's been a busy few days for Sergio Batista's Under 20 team in Venezeula whilst I've been away. Two more group matches have yielded four points in spite of underwhelming performances - you can see highlights of both games here. In Mar del Plata on Saturday, Boca Juniors beat River Plate in the year's first... Continue Reading →
A weekend off
I'm in Manchester for a couple of nights this weekend, sorting out some final plans for my upcoming trip to Mexico. What this means is that there won't be any immediate write-ups of Friday and Saturday's major matches; to wit, the Sudamericano Sub 20 group stage game between Argentina and Peru in Maturín, Venezuela on... Continue Reading →
Boca’s kids beat Independiente
The latest Torneo de Verano match was up in Argentina's Andean northwest, and the Salta crowd saw a Boca reserve side take on an Independiente team still struggling to regain the cohesion of the 4-0 win over Racing in the summer's first match. Boca won 2-0. Carlos Ischia was keeping back Boca's first string for... Continue Reading →
River and Racing draw in Mendoza
Sunday night's Torneo de Verano match took place in the Estadio Malvinas Argentinas in Mendoza, and saw Racing leading in a closely-fought game which only came to something approximating life in the second half. With almost the last attack of the game, though, Néstor Gorosito's men got a deserved equaliser to remain unbeaten after two... Continue Reading →
Racing beat San Lorenzo
Yes, that's right. San Lorenzo entered the summer action in Mar del Plata on Wednesday night against Racing, and they suffered the indignity of actually losing to Juan Manuel Llop's side. In what was essentially a match between reserve sides, there was plenty of poor passing and neither side looked fully interested. The best chance... Continue Reading →
Gorosito makes an early point
Néstor Gorosito's head and neck (not to mention most of his back) must be absolutely sweltering under that mullet. His new team managed to keep cool enough in their 2009 Torneo de Verano debut, though, that after going 1-0 down to Independiente shortly before half time, an impressive River Plate (in so far as a side... Continue Reading →
The Torneo de Verano begins
Independiente and Racing Club played out a pre-season clásico de Avellaneda down by the seaside in Mar del Plata on Saturday night, and the result wasn't an encouraging one for Racing fans hoping their side will be able to keep up appearances in the Clausura and avoid another relegation battle. With goals from Hernán Fredes,... Continue Reading →
Beach party
For the second year running, River Plate's fans can celebrate on the beaches of Mar del Plata after their side succesfully defended the Torneo de Verano trophy won last January. The extra-heated atmosphere that River - San Lorenzo matches have taken on since Ramón Díaz took over at the Boedo club was present as ever,... Continue Reading →
Little to say
Racing and Independiente played out the most boring match of the 2008 Torneo de Verano on Sunday night, drawing 0-0 in front of stultified fans in Mendoza. With this result, Independiente lead the table, and will claim the title unless River beat San Lorenzo in the one remaining match, on Tuesday night. Very little happened... Continue Reading →
Hasta El Gol Siempre 