Basile parts ways with Boca Juniors
January 23, 2010
Boca Juniors manager Alfio Basile has announced his immediate departure from the Buenos Aires outfit following a humiliating 3-1 defeat by arch rivals River Plate on Thursday.
At a press conference called on Saturday, Boca president Jorge Amor Ameal confirmed that Basile is no longer coach of the team.
Amor added that Abel Alvez and Carlos Borzi were appointed as caretakers while the board looks for a new manager, and added that “Carlos Bianchi as manager is a constant wish”.
Basile, nicknamed ‘Coco’, has an impressive palmares that includes stints at some of Argentina’s most important club sides, as well as the national team. In 2009, the now 66-year-old returned to Boca but the club failed to impress with a 14th and 11th position in the year’s respective tournaments.
Tags: abel, Abel Alvez, alfio basile, ameal, arch rivals, Argentina, boca juniors, BUENOS AIRES, caretakers, carlos bianchi, Carlos Borzi, coach, coco, Jorge Amor, palmares, river plate, stintsRelated posts
Homesick Demichelis considers Bayern exit
January 12, 2010
Bayern München manager Louis van Gaal might lose Martin Demichelis. The Argentine defender is unhappy with life in München and misses his home country.
Demichelis admits he is pondering a return to South America.
The 29-year-old centre half has played 155 league matches for Bayern so far, since joining Der Rekordmeister from River Plate in 2003.
This season he has made eight Bundesliga appearances and there’s a possibility that he already played his last match for Bayern because Demichelis admitted he was feeling isolated in Bavaria, in both his personal and professional lives.
“Life in Germany is still hard for me,” he said. “I miss quite a few things from Argentina. I live here alone with my wife and son and I don’t have any South American friends in the squad anymore.”
“Certainly some might say that a man has got to be able to deal with that and I am not saying that life is better in South America, but that is where my roots are and that is my country, my family and my history.”
Tags: american friends, Argentina, Argentine, bavaria, Bayern, Germany, last match, louis van gaal, martin demichelis, river plate, roots, South America, South American, unhappy with lifeRelated posts
Newell’s beat River Plate to defend lead
November 8, 2009
Newell’s Old Boys successfully defended their Argentinian league lead with a 2-1 win over troubled River Plate on Saturday.
Joaquin Boghossian put Newell’s ahead after 4 minutes, but had his goal cancelled out by Diego Buonanotte in the 63rd.
However, Boghossian had the final say as he netted again in the 79th minute. This time, his goal was enough for three points.
Newell’s shared the lead with Banfield ahead of this game, but now leave the pressure on Banfield to beat San Lorenzo on Sunday.
River Plate meanwhile, are in 17th place with just ten points from 13 games.
Jonathan Roorda
Tags: banfield, boghossian, buonanotte, Diego Buonanotte, game, games, Joaquin Boghossian, Lorenzo, newell, old boys, pressure, River, river plate, San, san lorenzo, sunday riverRelated posts
Argentinian classic ends undecided
October 26, 2009
The Argentinian classic between River Plate and Boca Juniors ended in a 1-1 draw, a result that helps neither side at this point.
At only a few spots from the relegation zone, most of the pressure was on River to deliver a good performance in this match. Boca on the other hand, needed a win to limit the gap with the top of the Argentinian Primera Division.
River Plate were first to find the net at their own Estadio Monumental, with Marcelo Gallardo beating Boca keeper Abbondanzieri after 39 minutes.
Both teams had a player sent off in the first minutes of the second half. River’s Cristian Villagra conceded a second yellow card in minute 46, and Julio Caceres of Boca followed with a direct red card four minutes later.
Three minutes after the hour mark, it was former Villarreal player Martin Palermo to level the score for Boca.
The draw leaves Boca in tenth place at five points from joint leaders Estudiantes, Banfield and Newell’s Old Boys, while River Plate are in 16th place with just seven points from ten games.
Jonathan Roorda
Tags: abbondanzieri, argentinian primera division, banfield, boca juniors, cristian, Cristian Villagra, Estadio, Estudiantes, first minutes, five points, four minutes, gallardo, julio caceres, marcelo, martin palermo, newell, old boys, pressure, relegation zone, river plate, roorda, seven points, three minutes, villagra, yellow cardRelated posts
Argentina: Velez Sarsfield lose to Boca Juniors
October 5, 2009
Velez Sarsfield wasted the chance to take the lead in the Argentinian Primera Division, losing 3-2 to Boca Juniors on Sunday.
Leandro Caruso opened the score for Velez after just six minutes at La Bombonera, but Sebastian Battaglia equalized with ten minutes left before the break.
Caruso again put the visitors ahead in the second minute after the interval, but this time it was Juan Roman Riquelme himself to level the score in the 64th.
The winning goal came from Martin Palermo in the 73rd minute.
Velez remain in fourth place, at two points from leaders Estudiantes. Boca Juniors are in 12th place, now having ended a three-match losing streak.
River Plate dropped to 16th place due to a 2-1 defeat by San Lorenzo. Diego Buonanotte first put River ahead in the first half, but late goals from Leandro Romagnoli and Bernardo Romeo turned things around for the hosts.
Jonathan Roorda
Tags: Argentina, bernardo romeo, boca juniors, buonanotte, caruso, Diego Buonanotte, hosts, interval, Juan, juan roman, la bombonera, losing streak, martin palermo, match, river plate, romeo, roorda, San, san lorenzo, sebastian battaglia, six minutes, take the leadRelated posts
Velez win, River Plate draw in Argentina
September 28, 2009
Velez Sarsfield are back in second place in the Argentinian Primera Division following a 2-0 win over Huracan, while River Plate drew 2-2 with Gimnasia La Plata.
The 20-year-old Jonathan Cristaldo was the man to watch in the match between Velez and Huracan. The forward scored both of the goals at Jose Amalfitani stadium, the first in minute 8 and the second with 15 minutes to go.
As result, Velez jump back to second place at two points from leaders Estudiantes, who beat Boca Juniors on Saturday.
River Plate were close to victory against Gimnasia La Plata at the Estadio Monumental of Buenos Aires, but were eventually held to a 2-2 draw.
Daniel Villalba put River in the lead after 42 minutes, and Diego Buonanotte doubled the gap seven minutes after the break.
Alvaro Ormeño pulled one back for the guests in minute 73, and disaster struck for River when substitute Juan Cuevas equalized with three minutes left in regular time.
Jonathan Roorda
Tags: 15 minutes, aires, Argentina, argentinian primera division, boca juniors, BUENOS AIRES, buonanotte, Daniel Villalba, Diego Buonanotte, disaster, Gimnasia, huracan, Jose, Juan, juan cuevas, La Plata, river plate, three minutes, velez sarsfield, villalbaRelated posts
How did Argentine football get in such a state?
September 24, 2009
Lionel Messi walks off the pitch in Asuncion his head bowed after Argentina’s 1-0 defeat to Paraguay. A few days later he scores for Barcelona and the dimpled grin is back on his face.
Diego Maradona says that on the compact Rosario central pitch Argentina will pin Brazil against their goal. They do up to a point, with masses of possession, but Dunga’s men demolish them in lethal counter-attacks with Maradona watching in glum silence and Argentina return to River Plate for next month’s key World Cup qualifier against Peru.
“Coco” Basile is all grins, throaty one-liners and “I know the dressing room inside out” at his official presentation as Boca Juniors coach on July 1. Last weekend it was his empty look the cameras caught as he walked off the Bombonera pitch after another defeat.
Nestor Gorosito welcomes the three musketeers Ariel Ortega, Marcelo Gallardo and Matias Almeyda at the start of a new campaign last month. Last week he went sprawling in the mud on the side of the pitch when a Lanus player slid into him in pouring rain during a 1-0 defeat that put River Plate out of the Copa Sudamericana, and the crowd cheered.
Argentina’s big teams, the national side that have won two World Cups and the multi-decorated Boca Juniors and River Plate, are not well and fans and media are struggling to understand why.
Former Argentina captain Roberto Ayala said recently in Spain he saw a “surprising lack of rebellion” in Argentina’s players against their situation as Maradona’s side hovered dangerously close to World Cup elimination.
The coaches may not have the answers but players who week in, week out make the European headlines for their clubs, the likes of Messi, Carlos Tevez, Sergio Aguero and Diego Milito, are failing to deliver for Argentina.
Does at least part of the answer lie in the fact that Argentina, who won the last two World Youth Cups, did not even qualify for this year’s tournament kicking off on Thursday in Egypt?
Yet it was the very World Youth Cup that made world junior champions of Maradona in 1979, Juan Roman Riquelme and Pablo Aimar in 1997, Andres D’Alessandro in 2001, Messi in 2005 and Aguero in 2007. There is no questioning their quality.
Argentina may be lacking a midfield general, the kind of traditional No.10 who strolled the pitch spraying telling passes, the most recent of which was Riquelme.
Captain Javier Mascherano is not that man. Apart from the fact he is off his game, he patrols the area in front of the back four as Americo Gallego did for Cesar Menotti’s 1978 world champions.
Maradona’s Argentina now rely on Juan Sebastian Veron — suspended against Peru after being sent off against Paraguay — to dictate play but he is being asked to play further upfield than he does to greater effect from deeper for Estudiantes.
Argentina bunch up in the middle of their opponents’ half, the forwards often get in each others’ way and the defence is left thin and open to the counter-punch.
Sadly, River Plate and Boca Juniors, two of the country’s traditional player production lines, have dried up in that department. All the most recent major exports are strikers.
Former River Plate midfielders Pablo Aimar, now at Benfica, and Andres D’Alessandro, who is in Brazil with Internacional, are on people’s tongues again as the sort of No.10 Argentina need.
Maradona as a player was that and much more. He appears unable, though, to inject his team with the passion he showed in an Argentina shirt or, as their coach, a strategy that brings the best out of them.
PHOTO: Argentina’s Lionel Messi pauses during their World Cup qualifying defeat against Paraguay in Asuncion, Sept 9, 2009. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci
Tags: almeyda, ariel ortega, boca juniors, carlos tevez, copa sudamericana, diego maradona, diego milito, dunga, european headlines, key world, lanus, lionel messi, marcelo gallardo, pouring rain, river plate, roberto ayala, Sergio Aguero, three musketeers, world cup qualifier, world cupsRelated posts
Rosario prepares for rare sight of Messi
September 5, 2009
So often ahead of a great sporting event, there is little evidence of a city’s awareness that it is hosting something special, like last year’s Euro2008 in Austria and Switzerland. Not so Argentina’s big match with arch football enemies Brazil in this riverside city 300 km north of Buenos Aires, home to a bitter rivalry of its own between Rosario Central and Newell’s Old Boys.
Saturday’s World Cup qualifier is the talk of the town which was surprisingly offered the match in June after national team coach Diego Maradona criticized River Plate’s Monumental stadium in Buenos Aires.
Fans of Rosario’s two big clubs, kept apart to avoid potential fights, have been queuing for tickets since Monday outside their respective stadiums, braving the rain and cold of an Argentine winter in real or makeshift tents.
There is a new breed of profiteers called queuers, people who stand in line for a fee and buy your tickets for you, a local journalist said.
With so much at stake for Argentina, who need to pick up points to keep their World Cup qualifying hopes alive, there are fears of violence after the match if Maradona’s team lose.
Far fewer people will be able to go to the match at Central’s ground, commonly know as the Giant of Arroyito, which holds 41,000, than would have got into River Plate, with a capacity for 65,000.
But the move has been a boon for Rosario’s hotels and restaurants, which usually have a quiet time in the winter, and street vendors of football paraphernalia.
Light blue and white striped Argentina shirts with Messi and the number 10 on the back are among the biggest selling items.
Lionel Messi, a son of Rosario, has never played an official match in his home town, having been whisked away to Barcelona as a mere 13-year-old, forging a career in Europe that has him on the verge of being named the world’s top player.
One of the youngsters queuing for tickets, a fan of Messi’s former club Newell’s Old Boys, said: “It’s worth waiting because don’t often see the ‘seleccion’ and even less Leo (Messi), whom we see on TV playing for Barcelona.”
Fans hope to see Messi tear Brazil apart and ensure he and Argentina go on to play at the World Cup in South Africa next year.
PHOTO: A street vendor sells masks outside Rosario Central stadium ahead of the World Cup qualifier against Brazil, September 4, 2009. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci
Tags: Argentina, Argentine, arroyito, Austria, Barcelona, bitter rivalry, boon, brazil, BUENOS AIRES, diego maradona, euro2008, Europe, Leo, makeshift tents, Marcos Brindicci, messi, national team coach, new breed, newell, old boys, paraphernalia, player one, quiet time, river plate, riverside city, Rosario, rosario central, South Africa, stadiums, street vendors, Switzerland, world cup qualifierRelated posts
Boca and River win in Argentina
August 31, 2009
Both Boca Juniors and River Plate made up for disappointing starts, beating Lanus and Chacarita Juniors respectively.
Boca Juniors visited Lanus and went ahead through Julio Caceres in the 17th minute. Agustin Pelletieri levelled five minutes later but a header from former Villarreal player Martin Palermo secured Boca’s victory in minute 70.
River Plate’s win over Chacarita Juniors was hard-fought. The Buenos Aires outfit scored the opening goal through Diego Buonanotte in the fifth minute, but had that goal cancelled out by Gustavo Alustiza in the 22nd.
Cabral then made it 2-1 in the 32nd minute but Alustiza again equalised just before the break, for Facundo Parra to make it 2-3 eight minutes after the interval.
River had enough energy left however. Daniel Villalba levelled eight minutes after the hour and the 35-year-old veteran Ariel Ortega made it 4-3 with two minutes to go at the Monumental Stadium.
Jonathan Roorda
Tags: Argentina, ariel ortega, boca juniors, BUENOS AIRES, buonanotte, chacarita juniors, Daniel Villalba, five minutes, Gustavo Alustiza, interval, julio caceres, martin palermo, old veteran, parra, river plate, roorda, two minutes, victory, VillarrealRelated posts
Andrade in talks over a River Plate switch
August 21, 2009
Argentine giants River Plate are reportedly in negotiations to sign former Portugal international Jorge Andrade on a free transfer.
The Lisbon born Portuguese player has been without a club ever since leaving Juventus in the spring following severe injury problems.
While, a brief trial with Primera Division club Malaga leading to nothing last month, the 31-year-old’s agent Pascual Lezcano has told Radio Renascena that a move to Argentina could be an option for the former Porto man.
“We are in negotiations but nothing has been finalised at this time. River’s interest is real, but nothing concrete has been closed,” he said.
“We all have confidence in Jorge Andrade. He is a player of great class whose quality remains intact.”
Andrade, who made his professional debut for his hometown club C.F. Estrela da Amadora in 1997, helped Amadora to two consecutive eighth first division places from 1998-2000.
Following impressive perforamances, he was snapped up by F.C Porto and later in 2002, recruited by then-big-spending Deportivo La Coruña in a move €12m move.
In 2007, Andrade signed for Turin based giants Juventus, for €10m.
Abhimanyu Rajput
Tags: Argentina, Argentine, C.F. Estrela, confidence, estrela da amadora, f c porto, giants, hometown, jorge andrade, juventus, Lisbon, Malaga, negotiations, plate switch, portugal, portuguese, professional debut, radio, river plate, turinRelated posts
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