Thursday, November 6, 2008

The Team Objective Is The Apertura Title

First off, what the heck am I doing posting on my blog in the middle of the day on a Thursday? Well, after working all day long yesterday with a headache that wouldn't go away, I woke up this morning and called in sick. I then went back to bed and slept until one in the afternoon. But enough about me...

Earlier in the week TyC Sports had an interview with Cristian Fabbiani in which he states that Newell's have yet to win anything. The win over Central in the clasico was important to the common fan, according to Fabbiani, but the objective for the team is winning the title.

He went on to explain that to win that championship the team has six more games to be played, and each one of them must be played as if it were a Final. With the three teams ahead of them, San Lorenzo, Tigre, and Boca Jrs, that means that Newell's must earn as many points as they can in hopes that the thriad leaders all drop enough points for Newell's to pass them all.

Granted, they are only ahead of Los Leprosos by 3 points, but it only takes one point difference to make or break a championship run. Right now, though, the team should be focus on Banfield, their opponent for tomorrow evening. Banfield have not been having the best season so far, but they will be at home and can be a difficult team to beat.

Even worst is that, of the remaining games, it is this one that looks the easiest. The remaining games (after Banfield) are San Lorenzo (H) - Arsenal (A) - Vélez Sarsfield (H) - San Martín (A) - and finally Racing Club (H).

The only good thing I see in that schedule is that the toughest games look to be at home.

Still, Fabbiani has stated the team objective. These next six games could prove very interesting. If the team plays at their best my prediction is that they should at least be able to take 12 of the 18 points available to them. If that's the case, that would give them 35 points for the Apertura. That is one less then the 36 point it took to win Newell's last championship, in the Apertura 2004.

Here's to the team surprizing us all and going on a seven game winning streak (including the clasico win.)

Dale La Lepra!

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