Say Goodbye To Newell's Title Chase, Can They At Least Stay In The Top 5?

Newell's went on the road needing a win against Arsenal de Sarandí, but could only manage another tie. This was another game that I didn't get to see, never even had a chance, damn the time difference. I was still at work when the final whistle blew.

As expected, Fabbiani and Insaurralde sat this game out, which I'm sure didn't help the cause. Spolli, playing as a starter for the first time sense his injury, did himself no favors when the referee saw fit to show him a red card in the 65th minute... he already had a yellow, so it may not have been a direct red. Either way, once you've got one card drawn on you, it's time to take some care out there. This insures, however, that Insaurralde will be back in the lineup for the next round.

Pablo Aguilar opened the scoring to put Newell's in the lead in the first half. Arsenal's goal came around 5 minutes after Spolli was ejected... have to wonder how things would have turned out if he would have been able to play the full game.

Now we fans, the players, and Gamboa must remember, there are still three more games to play. They may only be for pride at this point, but remaining, or regaining a top 5 position is still a goal to be met, and hopefully they can build on that during the Clausura.

Newell's vs Godoy Cruz 0, US College Game 3

For whatever reasons the feeds I get to watch Futbol Argentino are showing the Rosario Central vs Gimnasia LP game instead of Newell's vs Godoy Cruz. Still, it's been a day filled with soccer for me, as I've watched 3 college games on the Big Ten Network.

First up was Michigan State visiting the University of Michigan in a men's game. Last time I saw either of these two teams play the action, if it could be called that, was unwatchable. Today that wasn't the case. I can only attribute that to the fact that many of the better players on both these teams spend time playing for teams in the PDL (Player Development League) over the summer months before going on to play for their respective college teams. With UofM's colors being Maize and Blue, or Yellow and Blue, I have never been able to cheer them on, so I was happy with MSU taking a 1-0 win in enemy territory.

Next up was a double header of women's games, starting with Illinois playing Indiana, Indiana winning 1-0. The third game was Northwestern's women hosting UoM's, and UofM lost this one as well, by a score of... you guessed it, 1-0.

So, all in all, I've watch a lot of soccer today, but I'd trade all three of the games I saw for even the worst feed of Newell's playing in Mendoza.

But I absolutely refuse to watch Los Canallas play Los Triperos.

Night Of The Upsets

First half saw no real chances for the US, and only one for Trinidad and Tobago (T&T.) It was fairly even, though T&T had an advantage on shots of 5-1. Considering the US played with 8 players who didn't appear in the earlier Qualifiers in this round, and that they are playing on the road, I guess I shouldn't complain. Got to toss a note to the US announcers, though... don't talk about how the US is doing well with their passes. As soon as you did that, they had a spell of a couple of minutes where they couldn't get a good pass off.

Altidore, Adu, and Torres all looked good, which gives one hope for the future. Frankie Hejduk needs to learn that there's more to crossing than just sending the ball into the opponent's penalty area... there needs to be someone on the end of it. Look up and see who's available, Frankie!

Torres found Altidore early in the second half, but it was called off sides in a very questionable call. Forget that, if it was off sides, my head is made of wax, and my brain is full of bees.

T&T scored in the 61st minute, which only proved that Guzman isn't up to the task. Sure, Scotland's cross was near perfect (hey, Frankie... did you notice how he looked up before he crossed? It only took a tenth of a second, but he did look,) but Latapy's shot hit the post only to go in off of Guzman's shoulder.

Davies came in for Adu in the 69th, and frankly it was about time. While he looked good in the first half, he started to fade in the second. He looked none to happy at being removed, but Freddie has always thought more of himself than he's shown on the field at senior level. The move paid off as moments later after a bit of a scramble in the T&T penalty area Altidore found Davies all alone with only the keeper to beat
to tie things up.

And then at the 77th minute mark, the US gets called for pulling on a jersey inside their own penalty area. Dwight Yorke stepped up and made no mistake, putting his shot to Guzman's right while the keeper dove left, the net breaking open from the shot. I didn't see the foul, not even after the replay.

82nd minute the US miss a great opportunity as Altidore couldn't get all of a sure goal header. And that was pretty much the game. Aggravating, really, but not more so than Argentina losing to Chile 1-0, Canada managing a draw with Mexico, and Cuba actually winning against Guatemala 2-1.

Rack the US loss up to playing on the road, with a group of their younger players that need a little more time playing together, one bad off sides call, and perhaps a bad call on the T&T penalty... I'll have to see if I can't watch that play again some time.

World Cup Qualifiers... the bombing of Cuba

United States 6 - 1 Cuba

Just finished watching this game on tape, as I was over at a friend's last night watching the first two Saw movies. First thing I have to say is that the score tells us nothing about this US team, and having watched it tells little more. Cuba are a team of players with no professional league to hone their skills in, so beating them by 5 goals isn't something to get excited about, it's merely to be expected.

That said, the margin of victory could well have been greater. I saw far too many giveaways for the US team to be happy with their performance. I was, however, greatly pleased to see Altidore score the final goal of the match after coming on in the second half.

Beasley was also pleasing, as he seems to be regaining his form, but against a team like Cuba I'm not going to let his two goals go to my head. Let's see how he, and the rest of the team faces some real competition... say like when they finally have to face Mexico later on in the final stages of these Qualifiers. Until then, the wins should just be expected.



Argentina 2 - 1 Uruguay

I tried to watch this game over the internet, I really did. I just couldn't. The small screen, the constant delays in the feed... just wasn't worth it. From what I understand it was an ugly game with lots of fouls and yellow cards flying. Tevez and Riquelme will miss Wednesday's game against Chile due to yellow card accumulation.

Still, a win for Argentina, which puts them in second place in the Qualifying table, 4 points off the pace being set by Paraquay of all teams. With 9 more games to play, there's still a long way to go before things are decided.

Cuba vs USA... Cuba down by 2 before the game begins.

Due to World Cup Qualifiers the Argentine League has the weekend off, thus I turn to US soccer. The news of the day is that heading into their qualifier with Cuba, the US team should feel confident in their chances, as they have already beaten Cuba 1-0 on Cuban soil. This time the game will be played in Washington, DC.

Unfortunately for Cuba, they have more to lose than the game. Some 20 hours before the scheduled kick off and already two Cuban players had been reported missing from the team's hotel. midfielder Pedro Faife, 24, and forward Reynier Alcantara, 26, left the hotel yesterday and haven't been seen sense. It's known that Faife has relatives in Florida, and had contacted them upon arrival into the US. Provided no further players go missing before game time, the loss of these two players is not likely to effect the outcome of the game tonight. Neither are regular starters for Cuba.

The last time a Cuban soccer team visited the US was for the Olympic Qualifiers. During that visit Cuba lost a total of 7 players due to defections, and had to play an entire game with only 10 players as a number of others had to sit out due to suspentions and injuries.

Now, as an American I should blame the Castros for the sorry state of the Cuban nation, but as much of a tyrant Fidel may have been, a good share of the blame has to go to the US trade embargo. The embargo was started long ago, when the Soviet Union was suspected of placing missile silos on the island nation. At that time it made sense, but it continued on and became only a punishment for having Fidel as their "leader," and now his brother.

I ask you, would this embargo still be in effect if Cuba's major export product was crude oil rather than cigars?

Yo No Escupo

I saw this during the Newell's/Tigre game and wondered what it was in reference to. Rosario Central fired coach Pablo Sanchez some time last week and he had made comments after his last game in charge that some of the hincha had spat at him as he left the field. Is it any wonder the Central fans are known as Los Canallas (The Scoundrels)?

Oh, happy days for we Leprosos, as we seem to have found a savior of a coach in Gamboa, and Central continue to flounder.

Vid: Newell's vs Tigre

Short post tonight, as it's late and I must be functional in the morning. Just the video of the goals Newell's scored against Tigre. Not the highest quality, but maybe there will be better tomorrow.



Having watched this makes me want to kick myself for some how missing the part Fabbiani played in this game.

A Win For A Tie For Second

Tonight Newell's defeated Tigre 2-0, a win that lofted Newell's into a second place tie with the very team they played. I once again watched the game over the internet, and, yes, still squinting to watch the action on a small video. It actually was easier to watch than the game against Boca as the feed didn't have to buffer as often, which I can only attribute to the fact that Tigre are not as well followed.

That is not to say that Tigre were an easy opponent, they have been playing well this season, and last year, their first after having been promoted, was solid, if not spectacular, earning 56 points over 38 games (in Argentina the season is split into two championships, 19 games each.) But tonight Newell's were on fire, out shooting them 13-2. Tigre managed to put both of their shots on target, both very dangerous counterattacks that Peratta managed to stop thanks both to good positioning sense and reflexes to match.

The goals were scored by Diego Torres in the 27th minute, and Vangioni in the 44th. While all the scoring occured in the first half, Newell's continued to press Tigre's defense through out the second, and if not for some solid keeping by Islas the margin of victory could well have been greater.

The outstanding players for Newell's were Schiavi, who continues to be dangerous in attack while making runs from his defensive position, both Diego and Leo Torres, as well as Bernardello. I will, of course, have video of the goals from this game, provided YouTube doesn't fail me.

San Lorenzo lead the standings with 22 pts in 9 games having beaten Velez Sarsfield 1-0 earlier in the day. Tigre and Newell's follow with 17. Boca Jrs could make it a three way tie for second tomorrow when they face Estudiantes LP.

While Boca should make easy work of Estudiantes, who have only 8 pts from the 8 games they've played, I'd hesitate to place any bets on that game. Boca have not been on the best of runs of late, having only won one game in their last five. On top of that they only managed a 1-1 tie this past Thursday with LDU Quito, the reigning Libertadores champions, in a Copa Sudamerica match up.

On a side note, Quito have Damián Manso on their roster and he played in the game against Boca. Manso is a former Newell's player, having started his career with them in 1996.

A Quick Change Of Fortunes

After losing to Boca Jrs 4-2 at home, I wasn't sure what to expect from Newell's as they visited Argentinos Jrs on Sunday. Argentinos have not been doing well this season, with only one win in seven games prior to Sunday's game, but are always tough at home. Add to that the fact that last season Newell's had a tendency to play well against better teams, only to fade against weaker opposition, the Boca loss coming in the last 5 minutes of the game could well have sapped the confidience from the team. I give all credit to coach Gamboa for not allowing any of these factors to have the effect that I feared could have occured.

The game was played in a stadium named Diego Armando Maradona, Argentinos home (Maradona seldom, if ever, acknowledges the fact that Argentinos are the team that gave him his start,) but it was the team Diego last played for who came to play. The score remained scoreless until the 42nd minute when Fabbiani took a low bouncing cross from Diego Torres, and converted from around 3 yards from the goal line. There were three Argentinos defender around him, but none did much to stop the pass, and all seemed happy to let him take the shot, much to keeper Torrico's dismay.


Down 1-0, Argentinos still had every chance to get back in the game... but then Grazzini scored from a deflection of a freekick taken by Schiavi in the 76th minute, and the floodgates opened.

In the 79th Newell's earned a penalty when Ferreya was taken down as he came into the penalty area from the right wing. The footage I've seen isn't clear, it could well have been a foul just outside the area, but not in the referree's judgement. Schiavi placed his shot almost straight down the center of the net, Torrico dove to his left and paid the price - 3-0 Newell's.

Then came the goal of the game. In the 88th minute, Perez found Bernardello as he made an angled run from the center of the field into the penalty area to the right side. Bernardello's bullet was past the Torrico and into the far side of the goal before the outstretched keeper landed empty handed on the ground.

All four goals can be viewed below. Once again, all thanks given to those on YouTube who's post give me a glimpse of Newell's and many other teams in action.

Who Is The Greatest US Soccer Player Ever?

When trying to select the best player to play the game for the Red, White, and Blue there really isn’t much to choose from, soccer’s history in the USA has for the most part been ignorable. In a way this should make it easier to select such a player as compared to other nations, as there are fewer players to choose from. One of the factors would certainly have to be the number of games they played for the National team.

Name Caps Goal Years Played
1 Cobi Jones 164 15 1992-2004
2 Jeff Agoos 134 4 1988-2003
3 Marcelo Balboa 128 13 1988-2000
4 Claudio Reyna 112 8 1994-2006
5 Paul Caligiuri 110 5 1984-1997
6 Eric Wynalda 106 34 1990-2000
7 Landon Donovan 104 36 2000-*
8 Kasey Keller 102 0 1990-2007
9 Earnie Stewart 101 17 1990-2004
10 Tony Meola 100 0 1988-2002
Joe-Max Moore 100 24 1992-2002

Eleven players with over 100 games, or caps as they are called, for the US Senior National Team. Cobi Jones heads the list with 164 caps, but does he even belong in a discussion on the subject of who was the best? I think not. So what else do we need to look at? Well, if we want to talk about an attacking player, goals scored and assists would be the next step.

If we do that, the answer is easy, Landon Donovan. He has 104 caps over 8 years, and is already the all time goal and assist leader for the US Nats with 36 goals and 31 assists. All this, and Lando is still only 26 years old, yet some how I am still not convinced that he’s what we’re looking for.

Well, if it isn’t our all time leading scorer, then who could it be you ask? I’d say that Claudio Reyna is a strong candidate. Sure, he only managed to score 8 goals over 112 caps, but he did so while playing as a holding, or defensive, midfielder. In 2002, after the US’s most successful World Cup, he became the first American ever named as a starter on the World Cup's all-tournament team.

Still, neither of these men would get my nomination as our best player ever. So who’s left? Well, there is the US Women’s National Team. You know, the women who have won 2 out of the 5 Women’s World Cups (WWC,) and never finished lower than 3rd place in that tournament. And let’s not forget that they have won 3 of the 4 Gold Metals sense the Women’s game has been a part of the Olympics.

Now, I know, I know... the women wouldn’t match up with the men in a head to head competition. The men’s team would simply be too physically powerful for the women to handle. But if we discount for a moment the physical strength aspect, and only look at skill, vision, and drive of the players I think you’ll come up with at least one or two players from the women’s team over the years who deserve to be mentioned.

First, let’s look at the most famous women’s player in the US, if not the world, Mia Hamm. Mia is the women’s team’s leading scorer with 158 goals over 275 caps. Yes, that 275 games played for the US Women’s Nats. That’s what happens when you don’t have League commitments, your National Team ends up playing a lot more games to keep it’s players sharp. Thing is those 158 goals are the most goals scored by any National Team player for their country anywhere. And the fact is, she retired at age 32, she could have easily kept playing for a few more years and build on those totals.

And Hamm wasn’t just one to score goals, she also set up her teammates on a regular basis. Unfortunately I have not found any source for assists recorded for women’s soccer to illistrate this. To get an idea of her fame, and see just how good she was for yourself, just go to YouTube.com and do a search using her name.

So, the best player the US has produced is Hamm, right? No. Well, not in my opinion. In 2004 Pele, arguable the greatest player of all time, was asked to identify the 100 greatest players of all time. He couldn’t settle on 100, coming up with 125 names that he felt should be recognized, and among them were the names of two women, one was Mia Hamm, the other was Michelle Akers. Akers name has faded over the years. You won’t find any videos of her on YouTube.com., but, with out Michelle to lead the way, Mia Hamm might never have gained any of her acclaims to fame.

It was Michelle Akers who lead the US Women’s Nats to the first ever WWC in 1991, scoring 10 goals in the process. She was, in fact, the original pace setter for goals scored with 105 in 153 caps for the women’s game., and she did so while playing the last few years of her international career playing as a holding midfielder due in no small part to the fact that opposing players had taken to using the kind of vicious fouls and tackles that are far more common in the men’s game, along her having developed chronic fatigue syndrome.

Where she had been down right dangerous as a striker (forward,) her play from the back of midfield was no less effective. She was the linch pin of the US’s offense in their winning the 1999 WWC, she was used to change the direction of attack, and her long passes were as accurate as her finishing as a striker had been deadly.

Thus I give to you, in my opinion, the greatest US Soccer Player to have graced us with her play: Michelle Akers.

* Landon Donovan’s stats maybe incomplete, as he is an active player. The stats provided are from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_men%27s_national_soccer_team_player_statistics#Appearances. His profile on www.ussoccer.com only has him at 75 caps, don’t ask me how often they update their site, but obviously not often enough.

The Sleeping Giant Awakens. Newell's vs Boca Jrs

Boca Jrs proved too much for Newell's today, taking the home team to task with a 4-2 win. In the 4 games prior Boca had only managed 3 points from 3 draws.

The first goal went to Boca during the 5th minute, coming on a counter attack after a Newell's corner was struck too hard, sailing beyond the box and from there Boca quickly took it up field and scored. The entire play consisted of two long passes, and a cross followed by a sliding finish by Ricardo Noir.

Newell's evened the score after a questionable penalty call. There were two Boca players on when he broke into the penalty area. There was some shirt pulling involved, but nothing out of the ordinary. Rolando Schiavi converted the penalty at 21 minutes.

Boca took the lead again in the 62th minute, once again off a nice cross, this time with a header by Lucas Viatri.

82nd minute, Newell's tied the game from a bit of a scramble that resulted from a free kick when Juan Insaurralde found the back of the net, but only to have Nicolás Gaitán of Boca score their third during the 88th, and a fourth from Viatri no more than half a minute later.

The video feed I watched was small, about a tenth the size of my monitor. Half the time I couldn't tell what the color of the player's jerseys are. During the second half the shadows started taking over the field making it that much harder to follow the play.

Then there's the problem of the constant buffering as my rather slow computer tried to catch up to the feed.

Thanks to close up replays, I do have to note that the referee in this game wasn't bias, but neither was he any good. He called fouls when there were none, and let a few go that should have been called.

Diego Torres had fine game first half, but the only thing notable about his play in the second half was a hard tackle which earned him a well deserved yellow card. Riquelme had a decent game, he was involved in at least 3 of Boca's goals.

As per usual in an Argentine match, there was plenty of singing by the fans. Newell's may be at home, but I've got to call the songs a 50/50 split. Not surprizing, Boca are one of the teams with the biggest following in the world.

Getting A Late Start

Yes, it looks at first that the Independiente player is fouled in midfield, but the close up shows that he trips over the ball himself.