Early Season Discontent

I'm a bit miffed that Central are sitting on top after four games, but look at who they've played. Racing, Tigre, Crucero, and Olimpo are not exactly the toughest opponents.

Newell's on the other hand, have lost points to Independiente and Velez. Granted, Newell's have not looked all that impressive even in their wins. While some credit luck in Newell's win over Crucero I'd have to say that Crucero was lucky the score wasn't more lopsided. Scocco had 4-5 good chances he would have buried back in 2012/13.

Maybe it's Tolo's style that isn't working for the team, or maybe it's the team not working to his style. Maxi and Scocco publicly complaining about it? That's something that didn't even happen when Sensini was in charge. Maxi has been scoring, but still does not appear to be in top form. Scocco has not been anywhere near his best.

I may not agree with Gallego's system, but play your best before you start complaining boys.

Campeon Torneo Final 2013. To Whom Goes The Credit?

It has been far too long since I visited these pages and written a single word about my beloved Newell's Old Boys. It has been far too long since we last claimed a title. The later was fixed mid-week when Lanús handed Newell's the Torneo Final 2013 title by losing to Estudiantes 2-0, but we do not owe them any thanks. I wish they could have won that game, so that La Lepra could have won the title tomorrow by beating Argentinos Juniors at home. Now that final game will be one big party, but it would have been far wilder, far more enjoyable had we claimed the title on the field.

 

Newell's Old Boys - Official Wallpapers

So who is owed the thanks for this championship? Some will say the return of Ingnacio Scocco, Maxi Rodriguez, and Gabriel Heinze was the key to the victory. Each had there part to play, it's true, but was that truly the key to our success?

Nacho for all his goals he certainly is significant. But when Super Scocco, as I took to calling him on Twitter, was rested for the Copa Libertadores (a front we are still fighting on) it was Maxi Urruti that stepped up mostly coming on as a late substitute.

La Fiera Rodriguez was certainly a force to be dealt with. Minor injuries and being rested for the Copa gave room for the likes of Victor Figueroa and Martin Tonso to step in and have their moments of glory.

Same thing can be said about El Gringo Heinze. In the matches he missed it was up to the rest of the defense to make up for the hole his absence left, with Victor López and Guillermo Ortiz taking his place.

Some will say that it was Tata Martino as coach that made the difference, and certainly he had a huge influence on this team. Fielding a team that was often said to be a 4-5-1 formation, it more often looked like they were in an old school 4-3-3, the formation that was used by the first group of Leprosos to claim a title. While other teams that were playing in both the Torneo and the Libertadores concentrated on the Copa at the expense of the league, Tata rotated players so that, having claimed the domestic title, we could see the team claim a double. Or, it could be claimed a double should we beat the Torneo Initial champions Vélez Sarsfield on June 29 in Mendoza. (It is only a game played for pride, as AFA now have backed away from the original plan of this one game crowning one single champion for the 2012/2013 season.)

Pablo Perez was a huge factor on the right side of midfield. Early on Fabián Muñoz made his mark before sadly going down to injury. The Peruvian international Rinaldo Cruzado did not play often, but certainly had an impact.

All three of our defensive midfielders played their part. Lucas Bernardi has been as good as he as ever been. Hernán Villalba almost made us forget that Bernardi was serving a suspension early on, but sadly was not available due to injury for the rest of the season. Diego Mateo filled in when needed.

The play of goalkeeper Nahuel Guzmán has gotten stronger with every game he has played. Certainly he has some credit for Newell's winning the title. His back up, Sebastián Peratta, he whom I still call San Peratta filled in and put in his usual solid performance in a number of games.

So who gets the credit for winning this title? No one, but every one. Every player, Martino and all of his coaching staff, the grounds keepers and the fans. No one deserves to not take some credit for this achievement. May this be the beginning of a new golden age for the team.

Dale Newell's! Dale La Lepra! Dale Campeon!

Now let's see about lifting that Libertadores trophy, shall we?

All Boys Hand Old Boys 1st Loss Of Season

So much for the unbeaten run as All Boys discovered the formula to beat Newell's Old Boys. First, score early, as Jonathan Ferrari gave the visitors the 1-0 lead in the 11th minute. Second, start taking out Newell's key veteran players, as first Maxi Rodriguez (Víctor Figueroa came on for him in the 17th minute,) then Gabriel Heinze (Víctor López on for him in the 38th.) and finally it was Lucas Bernardi (Maximiliano Urruti for him in the 55th) all left the game due to injuries. Hopefully, none of them will be out long, but we'll see what the medical reports say on that later.

Once all that was settled, Newell's goalie, Nahuel Guzmán, took down an opposing player midway through the second half after a mad scramble to award All Boys a penalty, and receiving a yellow card in the process. Mauro Matos converted and Newell's were down 2-0 at home. Newell's drew one back thanks to a late goal from Pablo Perez, but even with 7 minutes of extra time in the second half was not enough for La Lepra to manage to draw level.



The good news is that while Newell's lost to All Boys, Vélez Sarsfield also lost at home, 1-0 against Boca Juniors.

Oh, right... I did not get around to talking about the previous two matches, which saw Vélez take over first place. Not much to say, really, both Newell's games ended in 0-0 draws, first to Quilmes at home, then on the road against Boca Juniors.

Problem: Lanús are tied with Newell's at the moment with 29 point (Vélez have 32,) but will be facing Belgrano tomorrow. If Belgrano they will join the congestion in second place with Newell's and Lanús, if Lanús win they will be tied for first with Vélez. Not sure what out come would benefit Newell's most at the moment, even a draw really does not suit me... isn't there a way where both teams lose?

No?

Ah, right.. Belgrano also have a mythical additional game that is yet to be settled there match with Independiente was suspended with Belgrano in front 1-0.

And Racing Club play tomorrow, and are also with in reach of the congestion in second place

Where once things were looking fairly simple, it is now very complex.

Up next Newell's have a short trip as they will be facing Unión. Should be an easy match, as Unión have only managed five points from sixteen matches... but at this point I am not going to make any bets.

It will also be interesting to see if Unión fans will be facing any punishment for their behavior during their 2-0 lost in their clasico against Colón. That match had to be stopped twice due to security (read, police at the grounds) having to deal with people in the Unión stands acting like idiots.


Thank you again Guillermo Lorente for doing your best to eliminate such behavior from our stands!

Maxi Scores His First Since Returning To Newell's

In my last post about Newell's Old Boys I wondered why Maxi Rodriguez had not scored since his return to the club. After nine games all the goals seemed to be coming from Ignacio Scocco, and I stated that we needed to spend less time trying to set up Nacho so that our opponents would give him more room. It did not take long for that to be resolved...

In Sunday's match Scocco turned provider, and from his near perfect cross Maxi scored his first goal of the season. This all came about with the match barely under way, and that lone goal was enough for Newell's to beat Vélez Sarsfield 1-0 and remain unbeaten for the season.


After ten matches Newell's are still in first place, two points ahead of Racing Club, who had briefly been in first after they had beaten Colón, also 1-0, on  Saturday.

Boca Jrs faded from the top as they lost 3-1 away to Belgrano. As much as that score might be surprising, the least likely of out comes was River Plate beating Godoy Cruz 5-0.

Next week is an off week due to World Cup Qualfiers. After that, Newell's will be facing Racing in a fight for first place...  Newell's has an edge in that as even a draw will see them stay on top.

Newell's Remain Unbeaten

What can I say, it is Wednesday morning and I have yet to say anything about Newell's Old Boys and their 0-0 draw against Tigre. With that single point La Lepra remain in first place, and are still unbeaten on the season. Still, there were things about this game that worry me.

First and foremost is the fact that Tigre are having a terrible season. We should have been able to beat them, easily. Sure, they had home field advantage, but that should not have been a problem. From what I saw the problem was that Newell's constantly looked to set up leading scorer Ignacio Scocco (now tied with former Lepra Iván Borghello) while Tigre focused on him defensively.

In my opinion to remain in first La Lepra need to find more scoring from the rest of the team. It is really a mystery to me that Maxi Rodriguez has yet to score a single goal since his return to the team. He is more than capably of doing so, his career has proved this. So why has he not been able to score now?

Mauricio Sperdutti only has one goal so far this season. He also is capable of more. The same thing can be said about Pablo Pérez. I can not blame Maximiliano Urruti for not scoring, as he has only been used off the bench this season.

Our next match is at home against Vélez Sarsfield. This will not be an easy match, and to win we will need everyone playing at their best... and hopefully we can draw the attention off Super Scocco and get a goal or two from another source.

Four Years Of Transformation

Found the following video bouncing around Twitter this morning.  It is a good reminder of what Newell's Old Boys were left with after the years of abuse at the hands of Eduardo Lopez and his lot, and just how much work it took for Guillermo Lorente and his administration to set things right... something that, financially, is an on going mission. New elections are scheduled for December. New candidates are out there. The team has not always been the best, Lorente and those under him have made a few mistakes along the way. But that is how you learn. Hopefully the coming presidential campaigns will not detract form what happens on the field, but how well the team does could well effect the elections. The team must do well this coming season, as they begin the year buried in the fight against relegation. Certainly with Gerardo Martino as coach, and the return of Maxi Rodriguez a glorious season is possible. But only time will tell. Mr. Lorente, your presidency hangs in the balance.

Lanús Preview, And A Few Odds And Ends

Tomorrow, at 5:10 local time, Lanús come to Rosario to face Newell's Old Boys. I have to say that I'm expecting Newell's to win this game. Not only are they at home, but they are facing a team that isn't playing well at the moment, three losses in four domestic games, their only win was against Huracán in the first week of the Clausura.

Adding to that confidence is that Lanús have lost the two games they've played in the Copa Liberatadores, at home against Libertad on February 9th, and away to Universitario de Deportes of Peru last Wednesday. They are also scheduled for another Copa match up this coming Thursday against Bolivian side Blooming, again as visitors. I haven't seen anything on who they are planning on starting in tomorrow's game against La Lepra, but I'll be surprised if they don't rest their regular 11 in hopes of picking up a win in Bolivia.

Even if they do play their best team, how dangerous can a team that has lost five of their six games in 2010 be?

I know, I know, I should be careful what I say... those words may come back to haunt me. Over the last few championships Lanús have been one of the toughest teams to beat, after all.

While Lanús have not released their line up, Newell's are expected to line up as follows:

Sebastián Peratta
Agustín Alayes, Rolando Schiavi, Juan Insaurralde
Franco Dolci, Lucas Bernardi, Hugo Barrientos, Leonel Vangioni
Mauro Formica
Jorge Achucarro, Joaquín Boghossian

Alayes is back in after serving a one game suspension for a red card, and Dolci is in for Nahuel Roselli. Hopefully this will be the game that sees Boghossian get back to his scoring ways.

Also have to note that there's still no word on when the match against Argentinos Jrs will be completed. Monday's match was the second that they had suspended. The previous match, away to Banfield, is scheduled to be completed this coming Wednesday.

Tying up some odds and ends, I should say a few words about Maxi Rodriguez and his move to England's Liverpool. Normally I'm against Argentine players joining English teams, as few do well in the Premiership. I don't see Maxi as one of those players, and while I yet to see him play for his new team, the reports I have been seeing have all been positive.

Speaking of players moving around, it was reported that there were scouts from the Russian team Dynamo Moscow in the stands of Newell's rained out match against Argentinos Jrs. Rumor is that they were there to take a look at Mauro Formica. I have one piece of advise for Mauro: WAIT FOR A TEAM FROM A WARMER CLIMATE TO SHOW INTEREST!
I know there have been a few South Americans who have done well in Russia... but I have yet to hear of one that didn't complain about the weather, the living conditions, and any number of other cultural differences they had to adjust to. So, Mauro, unless your favorite place to be is Bariloche in the middle of winter, just say no.

A Rat Expelled

To start the new year off right, Newell's Old Boys took one more step in distancing the team from former president Eduardo López, as removing him from office in December of 2008 wasn't enough. On December 28th, 2009 La Comisión Directiva del Club Atlético Newell’s Old Boys expelled him from the team's socios (fans who pay membership dues for the right to vote in the team elections, and other privileges,) and added 27 others with suspected ties to the former leader. Unlike López, the 27 in question will be allowed to come forward to defend themselves.

In transfer news Newell's have signed 22 year old midfielder Marcelo Estigarribia on loan from Le Mans of France. He joined Le Mans in 2008, but has only managed to play in 7 matches for them, so I'm sure he'll be looking forward to getting more playing time. He's also been capped 5 times for his native Paraguay, debuting on May 22nd, 2008. I haven't been able to find much on the player, but his wikipedia entry calls him a "versatile midfielder." Even if he can't crack the starting 11, playing more than one position will make him very valuable coming off the bench.

Meamwhile, my earlier rant about Maxi Rodriguez possible loan to Boca Jrs looks to be proving unfounded, as English side Liverpool are also looking to making a move to bring the player in on loan. Reports are that Boca are still interested, but in Liverpool's favor is that no pay cut would be needed. Boca, on the other hand, have the advantage that Maxi would be sure to be a starter, I'm not so sure of that when it comes to Liverpool.

Now, if Liverpool is showing interest, there probably are a few other teams that are thinking about making an offer of one sort or another. Should any of them be willing to make a full transfer offer I have no doubt that all the teams interested in only a loan will be over looked. Atletico Madrid, after all, would much prefer the larger fee such a transaction would bring.

Say It Ain't So, Maxi

Nothings official, but former Newell's Old Boy Maxi Rodriguez may be returning to play in Argentina. Well, if he either agrees to a pay cut, or Boca Juniors, the team interested in taking the the midfielder on loan, can come up with the money to pay his salary that is. Making it easier for Boca is that Atletico Madrid are willing to loan him to the club with out asking for a fee.

Maxi wants to play for his country at next years World Cup in South Africa, and to do so needs to be competing as a front line player, something that he hasn't been doing in Spain this season. In fact Atletico were hoping to unload the player on a transfer, but haven't found a taker. Boca Jrs have not been impressive of late, and Rodriguez would certainly be a player who could help them. The loan, if the details can all be worked out, would seem to be ideal for all three parties.

Personally, I want Maxi on the Albicelestes for the World Cup, seeing him back in Argentina would be great. Thing is, I saw the headlines of him joining Boca and every bone, every fiber in my body screamed "NO!" My soul pleads "why not come back to Newell's?" even while my brain tells me that the club simply does not have the resources to make such a move possible.

But Maxi, if some one should just happen to bring up the subject, if the deal with Boca fails to work out... think about it. Newell's were so close to winning a title during the Apertura in which one of their weakest positions was the right side of midfield, your position. They've qualified for the Copa Libertadores, Boca haven't. Wouldn't playing in the Copa enhance your chances of convincing Maradona to select you for the big stage?

Adu's First National Senior Team Goal - and Maxi's goal vs Scotland

Here's a vid of Adu's freekick goal from the game last night. Usually I don't bother with vids that clearly show that they were recorded by pointing a camera at a TV, but this one is too good a goal not to post it.

Here's the goal from Argentina's win over Scotland. Pay close attention to the very end of the clip, as it shows one of Maradona's assistants nudging him as the goal is scored. Diego is slow to react these days... or was he napping?