Round One Of The Play Offs, Maradona's Madness, And More

Just a quick note tonight, as I must be off to bed.

Going over the relegation play off matches played today, All Boys and Rosario Central drew 1-1, giving Central a slight advantage for their home leg. Mauro Matos gave All Boys a 1-0 lead. Guillermo Burdisso equalized for Central.

All Boys had reasons to complain about the result, as they had a possible penalty turned down, and Matos had a goal called back for off sides. Watch the clip below to decide for yourselves...


I haven't found full highlights of Atlético Rafaela's 1-0 victory over Gimnasia LP. That score isn't the securest of leads, but should still be enough to cause some worry amongst Los Lobos.

Also in the news, Diego Maradona has narrowed down the roster to the final 23 who will travel to South Africa for Argentina:

Goalkeepers: Sergio Romero (AZ Alkmaar), Mariano Andujar (Catania), Diego Pozo (Colon).

Defenders: Nicolas Otamendi (Velez Sarsfield), Martin Demichelis (Bayern Munich), Walter Samuel (Inter Milan), Gabriel Heinze (Marseille), Nicolas Burdisso (AS Roma), Ariel Garce (Colon), Clemente Rodriguez (Estudiantes).

Midfielders: Jonas Gutierrez (Newcastle), Juan Sebastian Veron (Estudiantes), Javier Mascherano (Liverpool), Angel Di Maria (Benfica), Javier Pastore (Palermo), Maxi Rodriguez (Liverpool), Mario Bolatti (Fiorentina).

Forwards: Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Gonzalo Higuain (Real Madrid), Carlos Tevez (Manchester City), Diego Milito (Inter Milan), Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid), Martin Palermo (Boca Juniors).

Juan Manual Insaurralde did not make the final cut, but that's about what I expected. Still, there are plenty of Lepra in the line up. The one's I know off hand are Messi (if you don't believe me, just ask him... ignore his mother,) Maxi Rodriguez, Gabriel Heinze, and Walter Samuel. (I didn't miss anyone, did I?)

What strikes me as sure madness is that D10S plans on using four central defenders in Argentina's first match, and is only taking one true fullback, Clemente Rodriguez.

And lastly, Juan Quiroga is trading in his red and black jersey for a... well, another red and black jersey, actually. In fact he won't even have to move out of Sante Fe province as he's been loaned out to Colón de Santa Fe for the 2010-2011 season.

Oh, The Things I'd Like To Say

Newell's Old Boys lost to Tigre 2-0. There's a lot of things I could say about this match, but I'd would like to keep this blog family friendly, so I'll do my best keep things civil.

I am sure that with this result there will be more hincha (fans) calling for Roberto Sensini to do the right thing and walk away from his position as coach, but I ask you, was it Sensini's fault that Leonel Vangioni was red carded? No matter how good or bad a coach is, he can not control everything his players do on the field. Even so, after Leo was expelled, Newell's still had the majority of possession. Is it his instructions that have the attacking players passing so poorly? How many passes did I see go directly to Tigre players, or directly to where Boghossian was standing, only for Bogho do the right thing by expecting the pass to go to open space in front of him? Is Sensini to blame for the fact that Boghossian has only three goals during the Clausura? With service like that?

That's not to say that I'm letting Sensini off the hook. I'd really like to know what was on his mind when he replaced Nacho Fideleff with Juan Quiroga. Fideleff was having a strong defensive game, and provided one of Newell's best chances in the first half, when his header was not too far off from providing what would have been an equalizer at the time. I have never been impressed with Quiroga's defensive work, and his short comings played a big part in Tigre's second goal. I don't know that Nacho would have done any better, but why sub out some one who is playing well?

That brings me to the other two substitutions: Cristian Nuñez for Cristian Díaz, Emanuel Dening for Joaquín Boghossian. Both Nuñez and Dening are forwards, which, in my opinion, wasn't the problem. The problem, as I see it, were the players who were supposed to be providing the forwards with chances. So why was Mauricio Sperdutti left sitting on the bench? Mauro Fórmica, anyone who's been following this blog knows I'm a big fan of his, but during this Clausura he's been doing everything he can to change my mind. Why was he still on the field by the end of the match?

For those who can stomach them, here are the goals:

I wish I could find a replay of Vangioni's red card offense, as I had a phone call to deal with at that moment, and thus missed it.

Up next, a midweek trip to El Monumental. Perhaps a match against the once mighty River Plate is just what La Lepra needs to get things turned around. Or maybe it will just be one more match to prove that Roberto really is the Senseless One.

I have no doubt that he knows a lot of things about futbol... but he has yet to prove that he knows how to lead a team from the bench.

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.

Champions In Our Hearts

Boca Juniors did their part, beating Banfield 2-0 on two goals from Martin Palermo, ending his drought. Newell's Old Boys, however, were not up to the task against San Lorenzo, as they lost by the same margin. Banfield thus claim their first ever first division title in a history that goes back 113 years.

Early in the Newell's - San Lorenzo match Newell's defender Juan Quiroga (pictured left) committed a foul in the area, giving up a penalty. Former Rosario Central midfielder Kily González took the penalty shot, but Sebastián Peratta did well when he dove to his left and stopped the shot. Quiroga went on to commit defensive mistakes which lead to both of San Lorenzo's goals, both scored by Fabián Bordagaray.

Newell's started out playing poorly, but late in the first half started getting things together, and the half ended with them putting non stop pressure. Unfortunately, they went back to playing rather nervously in much of the second half. They did have their chances, but nothing that San Lorenzo keeper Pablo Migliore couldn't handle.

While I could simply blame Quiroga for his defensive mistakes, Jorge Achucarro, whom I've praise for his work rate, also did little to impress me today. Though he did come perhaps the closest to scoring on a shot from range which Migliore only just managed to put over the bar, he turned into a bit of a ball hog. Were normally he's played will in the attacking third of the pitch, today he seemed to try to do it all himself when he received the ball in that position, only to find himself surrounded by defenders, and no where to go.

Still, once again I must remind myself, no one expected this kind of finish from Newell's at the beginning of the Apertura. For La Lepra faithful, they may not be champions, but they are champions in our hearts.

May this experience go far to bringing fortune in the Clausura 2010, as well as the Libertadores.

Peratta dressed in the red and black jersey, but in the end this didn't bring any luck to La Lepra.

Mauro "El Gato" Fórmica. Still my favorite of the current batch of players. Still only 21, so has a long way to go before he hits his prime. Question is, how long can Newell's hold on to him?

El coloso del Coloso, the giant Boghossian. Team leader in goals scored with 11.