Torrente Stepped Down..

Ok, I really need to pay more attention. Javier Torrente stepped down from the coaching position at Newell's Old Boys after the 1-1 home draw against Godoy Cruz. The intervening 2-0 loss to Banfield on the road saw the team under a caretaker manager. Sigh. This is what happens when I have too many other things going on in my life.

As of yesterday La Lepra have announced the signing of a new coach, Diego Cagna. After early success leading Tigre, Cagna's coaching career has been far from impressive, seeing Tigre to a bottom of the table 8 point 2009 Apetura. He then went to Colo-Colo in Chile, finishing the 2010 Chilean title in second after having lead the standings by as much as 7 points.

Joining Newell's at this juncture leaves Cagna with a daunting task. The team needs to turn around and start winning, or next season we will be fighting a relegation battle. Considering that Rosario Central are looking like they may just make a return to the top flight by the end of this season, I am envisioning a nightmare season next year if we do not start turning things around now.

Good luck, Cagna, our hopes and prayers lay firmly on your shoulders.

While I Have Been Away...

Newell's Old Boys have played three matches since I last posted anything. In those games Newell's have managed to gain only one point. Is it any wonder I have not been writing much about them?

It is not that I do not care. In fact the opposite is true. I have watched every minute of every game that work and social commitments have allowed me. And almost every minute has been painful and heartbreaking.

I want the team to do well, but I do not see that happening from what I have seen, and the results so far offer no hope, either. Nine points after ten games is not what we need from this Apertura... but that is what we have.

The defense has improved over what we saw during the Clausura. Newell's have only allowed nine goals in the ten matches played. The offensive however continues to be, well, offensive, as in insulting. Six goals is all we have managed? Really? With the skills of the players we have, that is inexcusable. Sadly, I can only look at the style of play the team has been employing, and in saying that the finger gets pointed directly at the coach... Javier Torrente, what is it that you are trying to do here?

Cross after cross gets lofted into the enemy penalty box... and it has worked to little to no effect. I have always said the best way to run an offense is to mix things up, but that certainly did not happen much under previous coach, Roberto Sensini, and I have yet to see anything like it now.

Avoiding relegation next season starts now. Last season was dreadful enough. This one is looking much the same, if not worst. Even bringing Marcelo Bielsa will not be enough to save us if we do not start racking up points now... and I do not mean a point at a time, thank you.

Newell's Still In Search Of A 9?

Newell's Old Boys loss 1-0 at home to Boca Jrs on Sunday was a clear indication of one thing: you can not win matches simply by creating chances. You have to put them on net, and, eventually, you have to slip one or two past the goalkeeper and into the back of the net.

Both teams had the same number of shots taken with nine apiece. Problem is Newell's only managed to put 2 of their shots on target to compare with the 8 from Boca. Simply put, if not for the heroics of one San Peratta, this game could well have been a rout.

But that is not the only story here. One of the things Newell's do not have is a striker of any size... so why are we lobbing crosses into the box when the only player who have that has shown he can be dangerous with his head is defender Nacho Fideleff? The only time he gets up front is on corners and free kicks.

There were two players who did have chances with headers for La Lepra that I took note of. But neither Sperduti nor Vangioni have ever impressed me with their skill with balls in the air, though both are apt at delivering the kind of crosses to which someone who is able to use their heads to score might latch on to.

So, just like last year we are in search of a player to step up and score goals. Just like last years we are playing pretty much the same style. (The only real difference I have noticed is Peratta using a throw to a defender to get the ball up field rather than blasting it all the time.) It is funny... I thought we had changed coaches?

The only things I have seen from Javier Torrente since he took charge that are much different is Peratta throwing the ball, and that he is far more vocal from the bench. These are both good things. Problem is that offensively Torrente is short on quality in key spots on the field, and has failed to find a system to play to the strength of the team.

Ah well. Could be another long season.

Yes, Another Weekend Is Gone, And Newell's Lost Again

Alright, going on the road to face Boca Jrs no reason to expect anything but a loss... still I was hoping that Newell's Old Boys could pull off a draw. At the half I thought that it might even come to pass.

At that point the score was still 0-0, despite Boca being awarded a penalty as a cross struck Rolando Schiavi's upper arm inside the box... but considering he was practically right on top of the play, he hardly had a chance to do anything but let the ball hit him where it might. Martin Palermo stepped up to the spot and placed a decent enough shot low to the left of Newell's keeper Sebastián Peratta, but San Seba choose the right direction and made the save look easy.

Once the second half started it did not take long for Palermo to make up for his missed penalty as he scored the lone goal in the 50th minute. Watching on in the stands was Carlos Tevez... you may have heard of him before. He was there to be presented with a plaque and jersey from his former club. I'm not sure exactly what it was all about, but it was one more thing working against La Lepra.

All things considered Javier Torrente can not be too upset with the result. Still, the fact that he had Newell's start out with a 5-3-1-1 formation was pretty much sign that he holds no confidence in the current squad's offensive abilities. Adding to the offensive woes was the fact that La Lepra's top three goal scorers were missing from the match. Juan Manual Cobelli will most likely never wear another Newell's kit as his agent (and brother) has declare the young striker will be moving to Europe as soon as the transfer window opens, Claudio Bieler has basically played his way out of the starting 11, and Mauricio Sperdutti (or is it Mauricio Sperduti?) due to having received his fifth yellow card of the season. All three players are on three goals for the Clausura, but it looks like only Sperdutti has a chance of added to his total.

So now there are only three matches left in the Clausura. Two of those matches are at home, but I fear Newell's will need more than luck to earn enough points to avoid landing in last place. They are currently tied with Huracán at eleven points each. Any hopes of passing anyone else would nearly take a miracle as there is a five point gap between the bottom two and the three teams, Arsenal, Quilmes, and Gimnasia LP.

Old Boys Beat All Boys (and the return of a friend)

Fantasma Della B

Newell's Old Boys played their best match of the Clausura as they defeated All Boys. The final score was 1-0, but could have been more. All credit for keeping his team in the game goes to All Boys goalkeeper Nicolás Cambiasso who proved that he is worthy of playing in the Primera A. One of the highlights of the match had little to do with what happened on the field, but rather the return of an icon, as the Fantasma Della B was again released in celebration of Rosario Central's decent from the Primera A last year at the hands of Newell's opponents.

Schiavi's game winner

Javier Torrente put together a very different team for Newell's even though most of the names were familiar. Diego Mateo moved from midfield to defense. He was teamed with team captain Rolando Schiavi and young Ignacio Fideleff. Schiavi proved that he still has some futbol left in him. He played well in defense, and it was his header off a Sperduti corner that gave Newell's their 1-0 lead in the 27th minute.

In midfield both Vangioni and Estigarribia were operating on the left side (though Vangioni often drifted more toward the center.) Raúl Villalba had a fine match as the lone central midfielder, first dealing with Ariel Zárate, and then Ariel Ortega. El Burrito came on for Zárate in the 15th minute, and showed flashes of his former brilliance. For the most part, however, Villalba was up to the task and the aging Ortega looked fairly ordinary.

Up front Federico Falcone made his debut for Newell's senior side. While he has terrorized many a defense playing in reserve matches, in his first match at top level he looked a ways off from a finished product. Still, he did have his moments, and has plenty of time to prove what he can do.

In the 90th minute Fideleff got into a bit of a tangle with Emanuel Gigliotti, and both players were shown red cards. Frankly, I think yellows would have been fair, but what can be done. Nacho now faces at least one game on the sidelines.

Sebastián Peratta
Diego Mateo, Rolando Schiavi, Ignacio Fideleff
Cristian Díaz, Raúl Villalba, Leonel Vangioni, Marcelo Estigarribia
Maximiliano Urruti (Martín Tonso 23')
Mauricio Sperdutti (Lucas Bernardi 73'), Federico Falcone (Claudio Bieler 63')

After the match, Schiavi was interviewed and while the subject of the game just played he was more than willing to answer any question. When they switched to asking about his future he simply stated, if I understood him correctly, that it would be decided after the season was over. When the interviewer pressed him with a further question on that subject Rolando gave him a quick "Chao" and walked away.

Improved Play, But Newell's Still Lose

What can I say? Is it disappointing that Newell's Old Boys lost yet again, this time in the debut of new coach Javier Torrente? Sure it is. But there were signs that there is yet hope for the team that has only managed five points from eleven games. First off, they were playing a better team, Banfield, and held their own. The fact that the final score was only 1-0 alone says that they played far better than they had during any other game during the Clausura. Torrente had the team start out in a 4-3-3 formation, and, oddly enough, the midfield did a far better job getting to 50/50 balls than they have in some time... as both Vella and Cichero, as well as all three forwards, helped to support Dolci, Mateo, and Bernardi in midfield.


Here's Newell's full starting lineup:
Sebastián Peratta
Luciano Vella, Rolando Schiavi, Cristian Lema, Gabriel Cichero
Franco Dolci, Diego Mateo, Lucas Bernardi
Mauricio Sperduti, Claudio Bieler, Néstor Camacho

Torrente had the team playing more quick one, two touch passing. They kept the ball moving, which, once they get used to playing like that, will create more scoring chances. There were a few passes that went astray today, but the communication between the players seemed much improved, and that has been the biggest problem of late.

While I will not argue against Banfield deserving the win, I would say that Newell's really did not deserve to lose. Really, I'd break down the reason they did not get a better result to the fact that there were a few calls that did not go there way (this sort of thing happens, but twice, when Newell's were called for offsides the linesman was grinning as if laughing at some inside joke... one of which disallowed a goal,) and that the team played with out a real 9. Without a strong penalty area presence, the goal scoring chances just were not there. Sorry. Claudio Bieler... your a fine forward, but a 9 you will never make.

Sadly, the Newell's has such a player, but I have yet to hear any further updates on their attempt to get young Juan Manuel Cobelli signed to his full professional contract. Until he does, I suspect he will remain with the reserves. And the longer that goes on, the more I suspect that he will be with a different club as soon as the next transfer window opens.

The loan goal was scored by Jorge Achucarro, who only a year ago had been playing for Newell'sEven though he scored against La Lepra, many of the local fans applauded him when he was left the field in the 84th minute.

Up next Newell's are on the road to face Gimnasia in La Plata.

“Everything what I know I learned it of Bielsa”

Javier Torrente made that statement after being announced as the new Technical Director (read: coach) at Newell's Old Boys. Learning from El Loco Marcelo Bielsa is one thing, using it to turn around the Clausura for La Lepra may well be far more difficult than any lesson Torrente had to learn from the master tactician.

I've found little on Torrente in my search, but can say that he worked as an assistant to Bielsa from 1996 through 2004, including a six year period at the end of that stretch when Bielsa was in charge of the Argentine National team. Sense then Newell's new coach spent time in charge with three teams, Cerro Porteño (Paraguay,) Coronel Bolognesi (Peru,) Libertad (Paraguay,) and then again at Cerro.

We will be able to judge how well he learned his lessons soon enough. I do not expect much at this stage, to be honest. To turn around a team that has plummeted from title contenders to last place in the league will not be easy. I do not expect miracles.

Still, dare I hope that the apprentice prove greater than the master? Only time will tell.