Torneo Apertura 2009, Discussion about 09 Apertura

Well now we know there will be a season at hand, let's rap about the Pretenders & Contenders

Here is a league preview from Reuters:

http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=reu-...uters&type=lgns

Looks to me like Boca Juniors have reinforced their team well. But River Plate look like they are ready for an over 30 league! Ariel Ortega, Marcelo Gallardo and now Matias Almeyda! Somebody forgot to tell River this is not the 90s!

Unbelievably River are indeed signing Matias Almeyda even though he has been retired for 3 years (well last year he was playing semi professionally) but he's been out of competitive futbol for 3 years and even before he retired his play had slipped. Sounds like a move out of pure desperation with Oscar Ahumada recovering.

Here is a decent preview of the league from FIFA.com:

http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/clubfoot...torm+fort+velez

I am thinking this could be Estudiantes year. Yes they will be focused on the Mundial de Clubes in December but for each of the past two seasons, they were focused on first the Sudamericana where they were beaten finalists last December and the Libertadores, winners this July. This Apertura they do not have those international obligations and can focus on the league. Even when playing internationally they still were near the top, now I think they can finish there. Losing Mariano Andujar in goal will hurt but otherwise this is essentially the same club who won the Copa Libertadores.


Play begins today with this first week's calendar of games:

Gimnasia - | - Godoy Cruz
Independiente - | - Newell`s
San Lorenzo - | - Atlético Tucumán
Chacarita - | - Tigre
Arsenal - | - Estudiantes
Rosario Central - | - Racing
Huracán - | - Lanús
Boca - | - Argentinos
Banfield - | - River
Colón - | - Vélez

I have to get enganche out of his slumber as Newells battle Independiente later today. Would be nice to catch the Rojos while they are still forming their team. Colon-Velez looks to me though like the top matchup this weekend along with Huracan-Lanus, two matchups of teams which were title contenders and of course in Velez' case, champions, in the Clausura.

Here is a list of player movement this offseason:

http://www.ole.clarin.com/notas/2009/08/11...l/01976886.html

Estudiantes should be a protagonist of this tournament but so should be defending champion Velez who only lost Larrivey but replaced him with Rolando Zarate. And while some may feel this is me supporting my own club, how can you not look at what Boca have done to strengthen their team and think they won't be candidates for the title? Basile will I think regain his magic touch and help erase some doubts left by his direction of the albiceleste.

Meanwhile at River there is....Matias Almeyda???

For thsoe who speak Spanish ther eis this preview of the league:

http://www.clarin.com/diario/2009/08/21/um/m-01982177.htm

Logic would say Velez, Estudiantes and Boca are the three favorites going into the new season, San Lorenzo, Colon, Lanus, Huracan and Tigre are for me the teams with the best opportunity to contend. Maybe if all the stars are line dup correctly River or Racing could also challenge.

So after the president Sra. Kirchner and the AFA president Julio Grondona made a big deal out of the fact that futbol will be free over the air for all comes word that now that the games will be split over several networks, the only province in the entire country where all of the games will be available over the air, and not via cable, is Buenos Aires! I see why those I come across from other provinces have resentment about Buenos Aires.

rosarino and dafyd will celebrate Newell's opening win over Independiente 1-0, Godoy Cruz cruized past Gimnasia and today San Lorenzo easily won over newcomers Atletico Tucuman.

Damn now I have to feed rosarino and his hungry family to pay off our semi annual bet on the outcome of Independiente-Newell's. Young defender Galeano lost Insaurralde and he scored a header for the game's only goal.

Impressive weekend wins by Estudiantes, San Lorenzo, Banfield, Rosario Central, Godoy Cruz, Lanus and Velez. The champions got a late goal to beat a combative Colon. Estudiantes picked up where they left off in the Libertadores with a win over Arsenal, Mauro Boselli is becoming one of the best forwards in the league. Lanus' new forward Santiago Salcedo with 2 goals, one a penalty, as Lanus impressively defeated Huracan. Afterwards Angel Cappa, El Globo's coach lamented his club's lack of signings. That is what happens when the club does not have much money! Meanwhile Huracan are in a fight with it's best player, Matias DeFederico over his proposed move to Corinthians. The player wants to go, the club does not wnat him to leave. But if they need the money...? DeFederico did not play this weekend. Looks like Huracan will not be able to repeat last season's glory.

Argentinos went 2-0 up on Boca at La Bombonera. A Riquelme less Boca as he was suspended. Marino came on at the half for the ineffective Gaitan and scored twice in the first 6 minutes of the 2nd half to salvage a tie for the Xeneizes but it still was a less than ideal start for Basile at the club. And even worse was River, 2-0 losers to Banfield. They need a lot of work, and younger and fitter legs.

My championship pick, Lanus. Estudiantes will be close but they'll start thinking about the Mundial de Clubes in mid November and will lose their league momentum. Velez also will contend

Marino did save the day for Boca as they are still trying to get acquainted to Basile's system of play. I'm not worried, soon they'll get it and this Boca should do well. My biggest concern though is that somebody help palermo with the scoring. Insua and Riquelme will do that from midfield but one of the other forwards will also have to do the same. Mouche is Palermo's current partner and a pretty good player but he seems more a set up man than a scorer. I am enviously looking at Estudiantes' Mauro Boselli but his path to success at Boca was blocked by Palermo.

How pleasing was it to see the ease with which Banfield disposed of River. This could eb a long tournament at River and I do not expect Nestor Gorosito to end the seasn as their coach.

Celebrate the win, yes, but the way they played, not so much. I only saw the first half (do to an impulsive nature and a feed that froze on me,) but that was enough to prove that Sensini still has the team playing more like an English team than an Argentine. All those long balls did in the first half was generate a lot of off sides calls.

What gets me about this first round is Salcedo. He lost his form while playing with River, came back to Newell's and did next to nothing, but in his first game with Lanus he scores two goals? OK, the first one was from the penalty spot, but that still gives him as many goals in one game as he scored for Newell's during the Clausura!

Anyone wanting my full thoughts of the Newell's win over Independiente game can go to:

http://leperinastrangland.blogspot.com/200...aking-this.html

This is why I was not able to post yesterday, I was suffering from a combative colon after eating some grilled hot peppers!

I am with those pegging Estudiantes, Velez and Lanus as this season's title favorites. xeneize is right that Boca will take a few weeks to a month to get on the same page under their new coach Alfio Basile but like aging River, Boca has a core of too many old players, Abbondanzieri, Ibarra, Palermo and the somewhat younger but questionable fitness of Riquelme, to be a championship contender in my opinion.

If he does not go to Europe before the close of the transfer window, I think Lanus' Eduardo Salvio will be one of the players of the tournament.

Nice blog by the way dafyd.

What about NOB??? I think they could rise to the top. I remember seeing a team w/ a bunch of young lads running wild over the pitch. Winning 50/50 balls & setting up goals. As for my love, El Ciclón, I think they have to find their way again. New coach, the carousel of players coming & going. We shall lift the Libertadores one day, I just hope in the near future

This is why I was not able to post yesterday, I was suffering from a combative colon after eating some grilled hot peppers!

Well said Martin but give me a warning next time as I started laughing out loud here at work!

rob, I wish Newells were going to be contenders but as dafyd notes in his blog entry there are a lot of new faces in the lineup this year and the team's insistence on playing a long ball style does not in my view best suit it's talents (or make for pleasurable viewing!)

I will agree with others here that Lanus, Estudiantes and Velez look like good championship contenders. But I will stick with my earlier pick of El PIncha as future champions of the Apertura. I do not know what to make of Boca. Martin is right they do have an aging team but they also have a lot of quality and depth on their roster. River and Independiente are disasters, Racing is OK but not great, the thought of Central doing well gives me the same feeling Martin described as having yesterday! Colon, Tigre and San Lorenzo could all be pretty good this year. Maybe not enough to win the title but they won't be easy to defeat.

This is why I was not able to post yesterday, I was suffering from a combative colon after eating some grilled hot peppers!

I walked straight into that one now didn't I?!

Big problems at San Lorenzo they just sold Gonzalo Bergessio to St Etienne in France for in excess of $7 million. Good pay day for the club but they now have a major hole in their attack as they are misisng their best player.

Boca just lost Juan Forlin who is signing with Espanyol in Barcelona. After playing a lot under Ischia, Forlin who has earned Maradona's praise, was not going to be a starter under Basile who prefers Paletta to him.

Midfielder Dario Ocampo is moving from Velez to Rosario Central.

What about NOB??? I think they could rise to the top. I remember seeing a team w/ a bunch of young lads running wild over the pitch. Winning 50/50 balls & setting up goals. As for my love, El Ciclón, I think they have to find their way again. New coach, the carousel of players coming & going. We shall lift the Libertadores one day, I just hope in the near future

As rosarino pointed out, rob, that NOB doesn't exist anymore. Really, the last time they played that way was the first two games under Sensini... but it was all due to Gamboa being at the helm for the 2008 Apertura. He had the team playing with hunger and style.

In their game against Independiente, at least in the first half, the attack for the most part tried to by pass even the thought of a midfield build up. Time after time I saw Nuls defenders blasting the ball forward in hopes that the new forwards, Achucarro, and Núñez, would some how get a chance out of it.

And the number of new faces on the team, just like with your San Lorenzo, does not help matters. Of the line up that faced enganche's team, only 4 players were regular starters during the Clausura.



Oh, and thanks, Martin!

San Lorenzo are picking up a pretty good replacement for Bergessio as they are acquiring via loan for one year Dario Cvitanich from Ajax. The ex Banfield forward is a completely different kind of player than Bergessio, less elegant more force and good in the air but he fills a hole the team had.

With Hilario Navarro winning Tolo Gallego's confidence in goal, Independiente decided to loan Fabian Assmann to Las Palmas in Spain's 2nd division. I think Assmann is a pretty good goalie, I thought he could have done better than that.

This weekend's calendar of games:

Friday 28.08.2009
Tigre 1-1 Rosario Central
Racing-Colón 21:10

Saturday 29.08.2009
Vélez-Arsenal 14:10
Estudiantes-Gimnasia 16:10
Argentinos Jrs.-Banfield 18:10
Godoy Cruz-San Lorenzo 20:10

Sunday 30.08.2009
River-Chacarita 14:10
Atlético Tucumán-Independiente 16:10
Lanús-Boca 18:10
Newell`s-Huracán 20:10

It is halftime as I wrote this of Tigre-Central, tied 1-1. The La Plata clasico will be played tomorrow and that always is a volatile match. Estudiantes not only are a much better team than Gimnasia now, they have also been recently dominating their local rival. Lanus hosting oca should be a good matchup too, Basile's team will find out if they are any good when they play the inform Lanus. I like that Newell's are playing Huracan in a week where El Globo's coach and fans have been complaining about the club's inability to sign replacements. Might be a good time to play them.

After 2 rounds of play these are the teams with maximum points: Estudiantes, Vélez, Rosario Central and Newell's Old Boys. Estudiantes crushed Gimnasia 3-0 much as rosarino predicted, with Salgueiro, Boselli and Enzo Perez with the goals. Velez won 3-1 over Arsenal with Otamendi, Hernan Lopez and Maxi Moralez scoring. Central with an injury time goal by Andres Franzoia to beat Tigre away 2-1. While Newell's won another game 1-0 with yet another goal by centerback Juan Insaurralde.

Independiente won 4-2 over Atletico Tucuman with 2 goals, one of them great by teenaged Patricio "Patito" Rodriguez, a rising playmaking midfielder getting a chance with Rolfi Montenegro in Mexico. Ariel Ortega with an assist and a late goal as River came from behind to beat Chacarita 4-3 while Martin Palermo's header enabled Boca to defeat Lanus 2-1 at Lanus.