Roselli Returns To Aldosivi

Nahuel Roselli was on a one year loan with Newell's Old Boys from Aldosivi de Mar del Plata (Primera B,) and the term of that loan is up. I can't blame his original team for wanting him back, as Roselli proved he was capable of playing in Argentina's top flight. His versatility was, able to play on the right side of defense and in midfield, was put to good use in his time with La Lepra.

Earlier, and forgive me if I've already posted this, Juan Manual Insaurralde has been sold to Boca Jrs. Boca's biggest problems the past season, which saw them finish 11th during the Apertura and 15th in the Clausura can be directly linked to a weakening defense. While one player certainly won't fix things, adding Insaurralde is certainly a step in the right direction.

Meanwhile, at the other team from Argentina that everyone in the world knows, River Plate, who are in even worst shape than Boca, have made their interest in Lepra favorite Mauro Fórmica. El Gato certainly would help River regain some of their offensive swagger, but there's one problem... the team called "Los Millonarios" are anything but Millionaires these days. In fact, the club is just as cash strapped as Newell's is. They say their willing to give up players for Mauro, but looking at their roster I don't see anyone on their roster worth taking. (With the possible exception of Diego Buonanotte... but I'm still not convinced of his fitness after having been in a car crash between the Apertura and Clausura.)

On a more positive note, Joaquín Boghossian may be staying with Newell's for at least the up coming Apertura. He's another player that the team only has a loan deal on, with Cerro (Uruguay,) and if they can't find a European buyer for the striker, Joaquín has made it known that he'd like to stay on Newell's.

Estudiantes Wipe The Smiles From Our Faces

Yes, Sensini was all smiles before the match as his current club, Newell's Old Boys, squared off against one of the teams he had previously coached, Estudiantes La Plata. Roberto, by the end of the match with Newell's losing 2-0 in a poor performance, could you still smile? Granted, it was an away game, against a quality opponent. Saying that Newell's missed captain Rolando Schiavi on defense, and striker Joaquín Boghossian still does not make it easy to swallow this defeat. Is there cause for any Lepra anywhere to smile today?

La Pincha truly had the best of the play, and deserve their win. As expected, Newell's did play a 4-4-2, but Vangioni was not part of the back line, he was in midfield where he belongs. Juan Quiroga was at left back. Here, then, is how the team lined up for the beginning of the match.

Peratta
Roselli, Alayes, Insaurralde, Quiroga
Formica, Bernardi, Estigarribia, Vangioni
Achucarro, Núñez

In hindsight, perhaps the team would have been better off had Hugo Barrientos started in place of Estigarribia, or perhaps had they stuck to a 3-4-1-2 formation with Machuca joining the backline. Truth is, Newell's simply could not solve La Pinchas defense. Not surprising, really, when you consider that Agustín Alayes could not earn a starting spot on the team, which is part of why he accepted his move to Newell's.

Estudiantes' first goal was created as an own goal against Nahuel Roselli, but the real culprit in my eyes was Cristian Nuñez, who leapt over the the incoming corner as it came down, Roselli hardly had a chance to spot the ball before it struck him and entered the net. Had he simply stayed on the ground, Nuñez should have easily cleared the ball. For those who can stomach seeing them again, here are the goals from the match:

The final score could well have been worst, really, if not for the heroics of Sebastián Peratta, who put in another strong performance. Looking over the course of the Clausura, it seems as though Newell's are faltering, but that well may be due to how well things went for the team during the Apertura. We fans tend to forget that while Newell's ended up in second place, only a point off of champions Banfield, they did so while winning a few games that did not play well in. The Clausura has not been so kind in to us in that respect.

Up next, the completion of the Argentinos Jrs - Newell's match on Wednesday, suspended due to rain with the score at 0-0 with about 30 minutes to play. After that, Newell's host Vélez Sarsfield next weekend.

The Giant Storms The Fort

I love it when I'm forced to eat my own words. Earlier this week I wrote about how I haven't been convinced of the quality of one Antonio Joaquín Boghossian (at 6'5" he's a giant for a futbol player,) so what happens this evening? He scores twice, and hits the crossbar once, all while using the feet that I said were good for nothing but standing on while he headed the ball... leading Newell's to a 2-1 win over away to Vélez Sarsfield, where La Lepra had not won 2003, when we won 3-0. This marks only the 7th time we've managed a win away to El Fortin.

Now, I'm not going to do a complete turn around here. Sure, Boghossian played one hell of a game tonight, but he also completely whiffed on a couple of chances as well. Not that he was the only one, as Sánchez Prette did not have his best game today... which isn't to say he was bad, just not as effective as he has been.

The best player for Newell's today was veteran Rolando Schiavi. Not only was he his usual stalwart self on defense, but he also made his presence known at the other end, setting up Bogho's first goal.

There were a couple of changes from the team that beat Estudiantes last week. Machuca was back in defense, while Nahuel Roselli moved up to the right side of midfield in place of Franco Dolci. Dolci hadn't been played badly, really, but I would say he's been our weakest player over all. I did like what I saw of Roselli in midfield today. For the second half he moved back to defense, as Formica came on at the half for Machuca.

Of course, having said all that, mid week Dolci will start and end up being the best player on the field against Racing Club...

I also have to mention that I was far from impressed with referee Javier Collado. Early in the first half he called a foul on Newell's as two players stripped a Vélez defender of the ball just outside of the Vélez penalty area. From what I could see it looked clean, and Sensini seemed to agree. He voiced his displeasure, and Collado tossed him for his trouble.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. While Collado didn't call a penalty in the first half when a Vélez player went down inside of Newell's penalty area, he didn't pull a yellow for diving... which he later would do when Achucarro went down in Vélez's area in the second half, which looked like a legit foul to me. He also didn't call for a penalty when Boghossian nearly got a hold of a long ball sent into the area, but was held back as the Vélez defender had a firm hold of his jersey.

Not that Vélez didn't have cause to complain, either. Late in the second half, Vélez had a free kick just outside and to the right of Newell's area, and the ensuing cross appeared to have been deflected by Formica's hand.

Still, the questionable calls, in all, seemed to favor Vélez more than they did Newell's, which, once the game ended, only makes this win that much sweeter. (If anyone can tell me just why Collado carded Peratta, please do. I'm still scratching my head over that one.) The only thing that was missing was a princess to save, and a Spaniard seeking revenge on a six fingered man to turn this win into a fairy tale.