Saturday, August 13, 2011

Way Late - But No Games This Weekend...

Newell's Old Boys opened the 2011 Apertura with a 0-0 home draw against Estudiantes. I'll take that as an encouraging sign for the new season. Was is not encouraging is that it has taken me a week to write anything about it, and as the news is a week old, I am not going to dwell on it.

I also never got around to writing much of anything about the happenings during the off season. Below is a list of in coming and leaving players, with a bit of notation on key figures.

New - returning players:

Víctor Aquino - Nacional
Victor Figueroa - Al Nassr - midfielder playmaker. Much is expected... but same could be said about Camacho before him.
Augusto Mainguyague - Independiente Rivadavia (Mza)
Ricardo Noir - Boca Juniors - striker
Hernán Pellerano - Almería
Pablo Pérez - Unión de Santa Fe - midfielder returning from loan. Should be a helpful sub, if nothing else.
Marcos Riveros - Nacional
Leandro Torres - Emelec - midfield playmaker returning from loan. I would have liked to have seen him given the chance as a starter. Perhaps if Figueroa does not work out he will still get his chance.
Carmelo Valencia - Ulsan Hyundai Motors
Santiago Vergini - Verona

Gone:

Claudio Bieler - Liga Dep.Univ.Quito - bye bye, Bieler. After all of praise you were given you really did not perform up to what was expected.
Alejandro Cascio - Olympiakos Volou
Rodrigo Chávez - Tiro Federal (Rosario)
Gabriel Cichero - Lens - played well in the Copa America, earning a trip to Europe to play in France. Hope Lens can deal with your defensive short comings...
Juan Manuel Cobelli - Chacarita Jrs. - after all the talk of interest from teams in Europe you end up with Chacarita? Excuse me while I roll on the floor laughing. You should have signed that contract, son.
Carlos Del Giorno - Guillermo Brown (Madryn)
Emanuel Dening - Guillermo Brown (Madryn)
Pablo Dolci - Chacarita Jrs. - Sorry to see him go. He was a solid midfielder who could fill various roles. Perhaps with Chaca he will be a starter?
Fabricio Fuentes - Defensa y Justicia - I did not thing he did all that badly in his return to Newell's. But the team had slow start to the Clausura, and he was soon no were near the starting eleven.
Cristian Lema - Tigre
Daniel Salvatierra - Atlético Tucumán - I am hoping this is a loan move to get Daniel some time playing as a starter. He has a lot of promise, and I hope he can return to Newell's a better player.
Mauricio Scaglia - Tiro Federal (Rosario)
Rolando Schiavi - Boca Juniors - too old, washed up? I do not think so... but Boca (or certain factions of their management) have been wanting El Flaco back ever since he left them to join Newell's.
Leandro Velázquez - Vélez Sarsfield - returns to Vélez after what they must consider a failed loan spell with Newell's. He barely got enough time to prove himself one way or the other with La Lepra.
Luciano Vella - River Plate

Meanwhile, Mauro Formica made his debut for Blackburn earlier today, and scored his first goal for his new club. Unfortunately they still managed to lose 2-1.

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