Diego Simeone will manage his last game as River Plate boss this Sunday against Huracán, after admitting in the wake of another spectacular continental elimination, and the worst start to a season in the club’s history, that he can’t stay until December.

Simeone told the River directors of his decision after Thursday night’s match against Chivas of Mexico, and president José María Aguilar didn’t consider himself in a position to turn down Simeone’s resignation. It’s hardly a surprise, and the fans won’t be at all disappointed about the loss of a manager who managed to end a four year spell without a trophy whilst simultaneously failing to really convince River’s fans that he was right for the position.

The championship win in the Clausura of this year was accompanied by an amazing capitulation in the last sixteen of the Copa Libertadores when, two goals and two men to the good midway through the second half of the second leg, they managed to let San Lorenzo win through to the quarter-final. A falling-out with playmaker Ariel Ortega was compounded by Juan Pablo Carrizo’s return to Lazio when the goalkeeper’s loan spell ended - River have defended terribly regardless of who’s managed them for most of the last four seasons, and losing the country’s best goalkeeper has hardly helped matters - and the side have been pathetic in the Clausura.

After this weekend, five matches remain in the current Torneo. Whether the new boss will come in right away or whether a caretaker will be named first is not yet known (it’s early days), but Américo Gallego is favourite to take over, with Nery Pumpido another possibility.

Newell’s Old Boys got a HEGS headline last week thanks in part to their chairman, Eduardo López. It obviously affected the air in Rosario, because on Monday a video was made public of the city’s other top-flight football president, Horacio Usandizaga of Rosario Central, engaging in some extraordinary tirades against his very own players, including an eyebrow-raising: ‘I’m going to kill those sons of whores…’, all in response to the poor few years the club has had.

Opening a new branch of the fans’ organisation in Funes last week, Usandizaga took the microphone and began his rant against the players and the club’s technical staff, who he blamed for ‘the bad moment that this club is enduring in these times’. The remarks first became public in Rosario on Friday but it’s only on Monday that the video has been released (those who can follow Spanish can watch it in this story on the Olé site).

Usandizaga, who’s known as el Vasco in Rosario, used to be a radical politician, and clearly hasn’t lost that streak since he retired from politics in 2001. He took over the club’s presidency in November 2007 with Central bottom of the Apertura table, and oversaw an improvement in the Clausura, but his side currently sit second bottom with just two wins from nine matches, and apparently having the same points total as defending champions River Plate just isn’t good enough for the chairman.

With Pablo Sánchez already having left the manager’s seat a few weeks ago to be replaced by Gustavo Alfaro, it’s unsure what the current manager’s reaction will be like - or, indeed, that of his players. Alfaro has muttered about it being ‘important to remain calm right now,’ but how calm some of those players will be about a death threat from their own chairman (even if it wasn’t meant literally), we shall see.

The fallout from the clásico against San Lorenzo on Sunday is beginning to die down in Núñez now, after two days of bitter attacks on Cuervo defender Sebastián Méndez for his horrific attempt to snap Radamel Falcao García in two at the end of the match. Now, though, manager Diego Simeone has to look forward to the next match - and the question arises, why aren’t River playing at the same level they did during the Clausura?

Méndez was among Falcao’s critics after San Lorenzo dumped River out of the Copa Libertadores with a spectacular nine-man comeback from two goals down in the Monumental earlier this year. The Colombian striker hadn’t been shy about telling the world how lucky he felt San Lorenzo had been, and was accused by many of the squad of sour grapes. His compatriot Méndez reiterated the criticism when asked about his sending-off on Sunday, after which he’d appeared to attempt to dismantle part of the tunnel back to the dressing room, and said that Falcao had had it coming for his previous ’sour grapes’ attitude. A number of River’s players, most vocally Matías Abelairas, pointed out that if there were any sour grapes here, it was probably Méndez who was chewing on them.

On Wednesday though, with the cussing out of the way until the teams next meet, it was back to business on the training pitch in earnest, as Simeone sought to examine the reasons for his side’s poor showing so far this season. The names, by and large, are the same as those which won the Clausura a few months ago, but River today are playing with less conviction and less aggresively. They’ve missed players like Juan Pablo Carrizo and Ariel Ortega, of course, whilst Diego Buonanotte is only just being reintegrated after his successful time in China winning Olympic gold, but for defending champions there can be no excuses.

Simeone begun the season by setting to one side the 4-2-3-1 which formed the basis of the title triumph in June - and switching to a 3-4-1-2 which will allow him to use Falcao alongside new arrival Santiago Salcedo up front, but which necessitates everyone in the team adjusting to a new shape. Buonanotte’s return complicates things a little because, as top scorer and the side’s best player during the Clausura, if anyone merits having the side built around him, it’s el Enano. Simeone also wants to seek a way to get the best out of the multi-functional Leonardo Ponzio, who was signed as a midfielder but has playing at the back so far this season as if he’s been there his whole career, and is to be given a remit to start moving forward out of defence like an old-style libero.

Two weeks ago, Simeone - who admitted after the title win that he wanted the side to keep evolving towards a style he had in mind - told River’s fans that ‘in the sixth round [of the Apertura] you’ll see the true team.’ With the World Cup qualifiers this weekend, that means midweek in two weeks’ time, when the opposition will be Vélez - hardly a pushover of a match to predict your team coming good in. Simeone has proved himself a pretty handy manager so far in his career - will his latest plan stand up to scrutiny?

Soon to be united for club and country?

Now, here’s a surprise. For days, his departure has been a given, but on Monday Oscar Ahumada, who’s been arguing with River Plate’s directors about his contractual status for over a week, agreed to a contract extension with the Núñez club which will see him remain with the champions for the foreseeable future. The exact details of the contract aren’t known - it’s not yet been signed as this story goes out - but it’s a surprising end (if indeed it is an end) to one of the sagas of the post-season. The second-best Argentine player in a foreign league, meanwhile, might be on his way to hook up with the best (as chosen by HEGS readers), if Monday’s newspaper reports are anything to go by…

Following a two hour talk with River officials on Friday, Ahumada is reportedly close to putting pen to paper on a new contract prior to travelling to the Uruguayan beach resort of Punta del Este, where he’ll join the rest of Diego Simeone’s squad for pre-season. The manager had already started to plan for the season without Ahumada, but his inclusion surely won’t be seen as too much of a blow to the squad - the deep-lying midfielder was one of the key players in River’s successful title campaign during the 2008 Clausura. Whilst the final details have yet to be ironed out, it suddenly seems likely the player will be staying at the Monumental, rather than moving abroad.

No certainties as yet as to River’s reinforcement for the season to come, though. Santiago Salcedo and Nicolás Spolli are both still a while away from signing anything, according to Mario Israel, the River director in charge of talking to the press about the likelihood of players signing contracts. The possibilities of re-signing Roberto Ayala or Ernesto Farías (the latter on loan from Porto) also remain distant, for now.

Manchester United, meanwhile, have been so impressed by Carlos Tevez’s HEGS award-winning season that they’ve decided to bid for one of his countrymen. Sergio Agüero finished a very close second to Tevez in our 2007-2008 award, and if United get their way he could soon be joining Tevez in Manchester. The recent European Cup winners apparently want to make sure that, whether Cristiano Ronaldo goes to Real Madrid or not, they’re not left empty-handed in the summer transfer market, and to that end have told Agüero’s agent that they’d be prepared to meet his €55 million buyout clause at Atlético. Agüero, contracted to Atléti until 2012, has already turned down an offer from Chelsea, but will the attentions of the European champions be a little too much for him to resist?

A quick note to let you know that during the 2008 winter break (that’s summer for our northern hemisphere readers!), the page formerly known as ’squad lists’ has been renamed ‘transfers’, and will contain a list, updated as frequently and accurately as I can manage (but please bear with me) of all the ins and outs at the current Primera A clubs. If you’ve bookmarked that page already… well, then frankly I think you’re a bit odd, but you should bear in mind that the URL has also changed; it’s now http://hastaelgolsiempre.com/squad-lists/.

Oscar Ahumada made a bit of a stir during River’s successful Clausura campaign, criticising the club’s fans in the aftermath of the superclásico defeat in La Bombonera before going on to be one of the team’s best players in the subsequent matches, superb in particular against championship competitors Estudiantes. Today, though, as new River striker Robert Flores joins from the club’s Uruguayan namesake, Ahumada looks like he’s got more than one foot out of the door at the Monumental…

Flores has signed for River from, um, River, after impressing during the Uruguayan Clausura just gone, which his club led for a good deal of the time and during which, at one point, it looked like they were going to break a decades-old league goalscoring record held by Peñarol and eventually finishing on 48 goals from 15 matches, topping the Clausura table. The 23-year-old has made all the right noises on arriving in Núñez, declaring that ‘I’d love to be one quarter of what Enzo [Francescoli] was.’ River’s fans would love that, too.

Relations between player and club have become so bad that they’re reduced to communicating by mail, despite the fact that Ahumada lives only just over a mile away from the Monumental. On the 30th June, Ahumada’s contract with River ran out and the player has refused to sign the three-year extension offered to him by the club, resulting in his becoming a free agent.

River seem to be refusing to recognise this last fact, and have written to the player requesting an explanation for why he didn’t turn up for training on either Monday or Tuesday of this week. It would seem that Ahumada reckons that by turning up to train, he’d be implicitly accepting the contract he doesn’t want to sign with the club. In his previous contract, signed by Domingo Díaz and Mario Israel on behalf of River, by Ahumada himself and by his agent, Néstor Sívori, there was a clause which acted as a pre-contract to the extension River now want him to sign (I really hope I’m reading this correctly…).

Pre-contracts, of course, aren’t normally considered binding either by law or by FIFA, and thus today the player denied the clause’s legitimacy, despite some very tasty financial terms being offered - on top of his AR$7,000  monthly salary, the club were offering to increase his annual bonus from US$308,000 to US$500,00. Instead, he requested a bonus of US$800,000 along with an ‘allowance’ of close to US$1 million as recompense for previous bonuses which, rather than being paid to him in cash, had been issued in the form of 10% of his own transfer fee in the event of a sale which now won’t take place. One of River’s star midfielders looks like he’s very much on his way.

Colón striker Martín Bravo is in an almost identical situation, having not trained with the squad this week after declaring himself a free agent under very similar circumstances. The forward, scorer of nine goals during the Clausura, was, like Ahumada, subject to a ‘unilateral extension’ from his club. If too many Argentine clubs are going to use this tactic to keep hold of players, the financial problems with football in the country are only going to exacerbate as clubs miss out on transfer fees. Both Ahumada’s and Bravo’s agents are looking for moves to Europe - if their players join a club outside Argentina, FIFA regulations won’t permit River or Colón to be compensated at all.

Having left a week aside for Gimnasia de Jujuy and (especially) Racing fans to recover from their celebrations upon surviving, it’s time to look back on another campaign in Primera A. It’s been a momentous one for a number of clubs. Racing’s survival joy was doubled by news that Blanquiceleste were out, River ended a long (by their standards) run without a title and San Lorenzo staged some amazing comebacks in the Copa Libertadores. So who’s got reason to celebrate, and which clubs will be disappointed? The highest-scoring matches and the goal of the season are right here…

Grinning from ear to ear:

Of course, River Plate are the big winners here, ending a four-year title drought under the stewardship of Diego Simeone, whose management career is already rocketing skyward. The Clausura as a whole saw a return to form after the madness of two ’small’ clubs occupying the top two places at the end of the Apertura. Of the top six, four were grandes and neither Estudiantes nor Vélez could exactly be described as ’small’, so there were few overachievers as such. The La Plata side, though, deserve credit for continuing to challenge for titles a full 18 months after their 2006 Apertura win, having suffered the loss of manager Diego Simeone to River at the start of the year.

Rosario Central, bottom of the Apertura with just two wins, were 9th in the Clausura and can look to the future with renewed optimism. Taking the season as a whole, though, Argentinos’ qualification for the Copa Sudamericana also deserves a mention, as does Tigre’s far more comfortable than expected year. Expected to battle against relegation, they’re midtable on the full season standings, and very nearly won the Apertura. Well done them.

Disappointments:

It would be harsh to put either of the relegated sides in here, because realistically Olimpo and San Martín both knew they were going to struggle all alone. For Olimpo, though, relegation was agonising because in the final weeks they came so close to rescuing themselves. Champions Lanús were 16th after the decision to put all their eggs in the basket of the Copa Libertadores affected domestic form badly, and Boca merit mention here for failing to win the Copa, especially given the manner in which they went out; the better side than Fluminense, but lacking enough edge to see them off.

Really there’s one disappointment above all others, though, and you know who it is already: step forward Racing. Bottom of the Clausura, with two wins and a pathetic 14 goals scored. Hideously bad luck at times, and they eventually survived in the Promoción, but the Promedio system was brought in to give the big clubs every chance of not getting into a relegation battle in the first place, so they really don’t have any excuse for what’s gone on on the pitch. Blanquiceleste are out and the team will surely be stripped right down and reconstructed for the new season, so there’s hope for the future. But even the most ardent of fans can’t put a happy gloss on a dreadful season.

What a lot of goals!

A constant in our seasonal reviews is to point out how many goals were scored this season, and it’s a nice high average again. We’ve gone from 2.5 per match in last year’s Clausura, to 2.55555 in the Apertura, to 481 goals in the 190 matches (Promoción) not included for this stat) to give us 2.53 goals per match. Highest-scoring were two eight-goal matches: Lanús 2 - 6 Arsenal on the 13th weekend, and Boca 6 - 2 Tigre on the final day. Vélez’s opening weekend thriller against Colón featured seven, as did Estudiantes vs. Newell’s on the third weekend and Banfield’s 4-3 against Huracán in the 12th round. If I listed all the matches which featured six goals, never mind five, this would turn into the longest paragraph ever written anywhere on the internet, so excuse me if I don’t.

There’s no competition at all for the side whose matches featured the most goals in this campaign. Banfield were the highest scorers with thirty-six. How, you ask, did they manage to finish in only 12th? Well, because they had a goal difference of zero. That’s right: played 19, scored 36, conceded 36. Having taken the ‘most goals’ title at the end of the Apertura, new champions River have dropped down the entertainment list: the tightest defence (or rather, best goalkeeper) combined with an attack featuring Sebastián Abreu as its leading man doesn’t make for lots of goals. Whose matches should you avoid? Huracán. 15 scored, 17 conceded. They really shouldn’t have let Ossie go…

Best newcomer:

I’m going to go for an odd one here, because he’s not featured extensively so far, but Boca Juniors starlet Cristian Chávez has impressed in the few appearances he made in league and Copa towards the end of the season. He’s got involved at crucial moments (most memorably, it’s true, when he pushed the ball to a team-mate for the equaliser against Racing with his hand) and cut in energetically from the flanks, as well as showing a good range of passing from the centre of the pitch. If Juan Román Riquelme’s fits of pique and reported arguments with Martín Palermo continue to escalate, maybe Boca won’t be looking too far for a replacement…

Player of the Clausura

Sorry to keep blowing my own trumpet, but after picking him as the Apertura’s best newcomer back in December, and having told you all, eleven months ago, to keep an eye on him in 2007-2008, Diego Buonanotte finished the Clausura as his club’s top scorer and one of the highest assist-makers as River Plate won the title. Alongside an intermittently brilliant Ariel Ortega, Buonanotte shone, adding steel and more of an edge to the undoubted promise he’d already shown under Daniel Passarella in the Apertura. Crediting the more professional side of his game to new boss Diego Simeone, Buonanotte’s gone from struggling to get on the bench for the reserves, to first name on the first-team teamsheet at River, in the space of twelve months. And he’s staying exactly where he is for now, so look forward to more of the same next season…

The best goals:

A very, very tricky choice indeed, because there have been some absolute beauties scored in this campaign. With honourable mentions due to Martín Morel of Tigre, Jairo Patiño of Banfield and Gabriel Hauche of Argentinos, all of whom scored goals worthy of winning the title in another league, or another season(amongst many others of similar quality), I’ve got a 1-2-3, and it looks like this:

3rd place

OK, they’re already 3-0 up, but the way Agustín Pelletieri turns two opposing defenders first one way, then the other, then back again, before beating the ‘keeper at pace is brilliant.

2nd place

Olimpo went down, but not for want of trying. Along the way, Diego Barrado scored this absolutely wonderful solo goal against San Lorenzo.

Goal of the Clausura

Against the champions of South America, Boca Juniors, Vélez Sársfield midfielder Damián Escudero picked up the ball in midfield and started running, and just kept on going. If Lionel Messi had scored this goal for Barcelona, you’d never have been allowed to forget about it…

With the completion at the weekend of the Promociónes, the 2007-2008 season is now complete in Argentina. Racing, of course, are the most notable survivors of the relegations playoffs, but there have been shocks in other divisions with little-fancied All Boys winning the Primera B championship, and Nueva Chicago losing their playoff to fall down to the third flight just one year after relegation from Primera A. For all the divisional champions, promotees and relegated sides, read on.

A quick reminder of the league structure: Primera A is the first division, followed by Primera B Nacional. Below that there are two third divisions: Primera B and Torneo Argentino A (the latter for sides not directly affiliated to the AFA). Then two fourth divisions: Primera C and Argentino B. Finally, two fifth divisions: Primera D and the Torneo del Interior. Movement up and down divisions is from Torneo del Interior to the two Torneos Argentinos, and from Primera D to C, up to Primera B. I’ve placed dividers between ‘tiers’ to try and make this clearer. Finally a reminder that the divisions below the top flight all operated a season-long single championship this year, so that whilst Primera A has two champions, the other divisions all have just the one.

—- 1st tier —-

Primera División A:
Champions: Lanús (Apertura 2007); River Plate (Clausura 2008 )
Also to the 2008 Copa Sudamericana: Boca Juniors; Arsenal de Sarandí (defending champions); Estudiantes de La Plata; San Lorenzo de Almagro; Argentinos Juniors; Independiente.
Relegated: San Martín de San Juan; Olimpo de Bahía Blanca

—- 2nd tier —-

Primera División B Nacional:
Champions: San Martín de Tucumán
Also promoted: Godoy Cruz de Mendoza
Relegated: Ben Hur (to Argentino A); Almirante Brown and Nueva Chicago (both to Primera B)

—- 3rd tier —-

Primera División B:
Champions: All Boys (promoted to Primera B Nacional)
Also promoted to B Nacional: Los Andes
Relegated to Primera C: Defensores de Cambaceres

Torneo Argentino A:
Champions: Atlético Tucumán (promoted to Primera B Nacional)
Relegated to Argentino B: La Florida de Tucumán; Sportivo Patria de Formosa; Lujan de Cuyo de Mendoza; La Plata F.C.

—- 4th tier —-

Primera División C:
Champions: Colegiales (promoted to Primera B)
Relegated to Primera D: Sportivo Dock Sud; San Martín de Burzaco

Torneo Argentino B:
Promoted to Argentino A: Deportivo Maipú de Mendoza; Patronato de Paraná; Alvarado de Mar Del Plata; Central Córdoba de Santiago del Estero
Relegated to Torneo del Interior: Tres Algarrobos de Rivadavia; Atlético Maronese de Neuquen; Atlético Ñuñorco de Tucumán; Gimnasia y Esgrima de Santa Fé

—- 5th tier —-

Primera División D:
Champions: Defensores Unidos de Zaraté (promoted to Primera C)
Also promoted to Primera C: Berazategui
De-affiliated from AFA for one year: Deportivo Muñiz
Re-affiliated: Centro Español

Torneo del Interior:
Promoted to Argentino B: Atlético Concepción de Tucumán; Huracán de Comodoro Rivadavia; Sportivo del Bono de San Juan; Unión de Mar Del Plata

Photo by Hernan Dardick on the HEGS Flickr pool

Following Gimnasia de Jujuy’s away draw with Unión on Wednesday evening, Racing got one of their own in Córdoba against Belgrano to set up a return at El Cilindro on Sunday. In the first half, Facundo Sava was on his best form, scoring once but missing an absolute bucketload as Racing more or less shut the game out and took a 1-0 lead into the interval thanks to the striker’s 15th-minute goal. In the second half, Belgrano were more motivated, knowing that to win away will be a tall order, and made their task a little easier when substitute Matías Gigli equalised with fourteen minutes to go. Racing won’t be entirely happy, then, but with away goals not counting, and an aggregate draw being all the current Primera A sides have to manage, they’ve given themselves a decent chance at the weekend…

The first legs of the Promoción between the Primera A and B Nacional are played tonight, and in the earlier kick off, Gimnasia de Jujuy have got a good result in attempting to defend their place in the top flight. In front of a full stadium in Santa Fé, El Lobo Jujeño took the lead eleven minutes before the break when César Carranza was given a helping hand by home goalie Luis Assef and headed home. On the stroke of half time, Juan Serrizuela levelled for Unión. Racing visit Belgrano de Córdoba in the other Promoción which kicked off a few minutes before this post was published.

The goals from the final round of matches in the 2008 Torneo Clausura are online now, and you can watch them right here on the TN sports blog. Lack of individual goal videos online this week means the normal best goals feature has had to be cut back a little, but I’ve still managed to get vids of four of my favourites for your viewing pleasure right here.

Running order for TN Show de Goles:
Colón (red & white halved shirts) vs. Racing (sky blue & white stripes)
Banfield (green & white stripes) vs. River (white, red sash)
Boca (navy & gold) vs. Tigre (blue & red)
Gimnasa de Jujuy (white & sky blue) vs. San Lorenzo (navy & red stripes)
Argentinos (red) vs. Central (blue & yellow stripes)
Gimnasia LP (white & navy) vs. Lanús (maroon)
Newell’s (white) vs. San Martín (green & black stripes)
Olimpo (black & gold stripes) vs. Estudiantes (red & white stripes)
Huracán (blue) vs. Vélez (white, navy ‘V’)
Independiente (white) vs. Arsenal (red & sky blue)

A few of the decent ones:

Díaz: Argentinos 0 - 1 Central (15 mins)

Cristaldo: Huracán 0 - 1 Vélez (2 mins)

Palacio: Boca 1 - 0 Tigre (6 mins)

Palermo: Boca 2 - 1 Tigre (29 mins)

And so it comes to this. Three seasons of struggle against the drop came down to one head-to-head match to decide who, out of Colón de Santa Fé and Racing Club, would remain in the Primera A next season, and who would have to enter a two-leg playoff against a side from B Nacional to defend their place in the division. Racing have had a season of the most appalling luck, and it got no better in Santa Fé on Sunday…

Inevitably, the match begun at a hundred miles an hour and in spite of neither side being able to afford a loss (though a draw would suit Colón), both defences were in generous mood, with shooting opportunities hardly at a premium. The hosts, though, looked the better team, with an organised 4-4-2 helping create chances for front men Darío Gandín and Rubén Ramírez. Racing, for their part, relied too heavily on Maxi Moralez, and the supply line was cut by Germán Rivarola and Alejandro Capurro working hard in the middle of the pitch.

Racing had a chance early on, Facundo Sava knocking a high ball on for Moralez, who shot on sight and flashed it wide. That was in the fifth minute, just one minute after Marcos Cáceres had cleared a goalbound header from Ramírez off the Racing line, and it was to prove the visitors’ only real chance of the first half. As the match drew on, nerves crept in, fear of losing affecting Racing in particular, with Colón’s organisation allowing them to control the match with the knowledge that the point would be enough for them.

Bizarrely, Colón changed strategies at half-time, their aim of controlling the game and allowing themselves to relax a little giving way to a new and unusual method of getting what they needed from the match: giving the ball to their opponents as often as possible, and defend desperately. For a long while, it didn’t make any reasonable difference, as Racing’s lack of finesse in the final third continued to act as much against them as any real competence on the part of their opponents. Late on, pressure began to tell.

With six minutes of the ninety remaining, Cáceres hit a shot which skimmed the top of the crossbar; two minutes on, Sava saw a header narrowly over. Racing were pushing forward, searching hard for the game’s only goal. Two minutes into stoppage time it arrived: at the other end of the pitch. Substitute César Carignano seized on an error from Cáceres and ran way up the pitch, getting into Racing’s box and knocking the ball sideways for Rivarola, who finished left-footed and with aplomb.

Colón are safe for another season, and for Racing it’s the nailbiting Promoción. They’ll play Belgrano de Córdoba over two legs, with the first coming on Wednesday in Córdoba. Two more matches to save a season…

Only one match was played on Friday night to kick off the final round of the Torneo Clausura 2008, but it had importance in its own right. Argentinos Juniors hosted Rosario Central with the aim of securing a victory that would qualify them for next season’s Copa Sudamericana. In addition, they had the chance to extend their unbeaten home run to 16 matches. Central, safe from relegation worries, were motivated only by the idea of spoiling the party, and that didn’t prove strong enough: El Bicho won, 2-1.

The visitors did threaten to mess things up for Argentinos, taking the lead quarter of an hour in through Damián Díaz and holding it until almost half-time, when Alejandro Delorte equalised just a minute before the break. Jorge Díaz’s real work improving the rosarinos will start now their season’s over and he can concentrate on helping them finish further up the table next season, but he must have been encouraged. Whatever Argentinos boss Néstor Gorosito said to his own charges at half time worked, though, and especially for Delorte, who added a second with eight minutes remaining, after Juan Mercier had got himself sent off to reduce the home side to ten men.

Argentinos, then, are going to the Sudamericana. HEGS won’t have any coverage of Saturday’s matches (I’m going to Donington Park for the UK leg of the MotoGP), but normal service will be resumed on Sunday night, the day of reckoning for the relegation issues. Don’t go away…

Here it is, ladies and gents: the final weekend of the Primera A Torneo Clausura 2008. River are already champions, but there’s still the small matter of relegation to sort out, and to that end the weekend’s most important match is the winner-takes-all game in Santa Fé, where Colón host Racing. I’m in Nottingham on Saturday night to watch the British leg of the MotoGP on Sunday, so there won’t be any match write-up on Saturday evening, but I’ll be back by Sunday for the full breakdown of scores, and what they mean. If your side’s involved at the wrong end of the Promedio, then all the best…

All kick off times are local. Add four hours for British Summer Time.

Primera División A Torneo Clausura 2008, nineteenth round
Argentinos Juniors vs. Rosario Central (Fri, 21:15)
Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata vs. Lanús (Sat, 16:10)
Huracán vs. Vélez Sársfield (Sat, 18:20)
Newell’s Old Boys vs. San Martín de San Juan (Sat, 18:20)
Independiente vs. Arsenal de Sarandí (Sat, 21:10)
Banfield vs. River Plate (Sun, 14:10)
Olimpo de Bahía Blanca vs. Estudiantes de La Plata (Sun, 16:20)
Colón de Santa Fé vs. Racing Club (Sun, 16:20)
Gimnasia y Esgrima de Jujuy vs. San Lorenzo (Sun, 16:20)
Boca Juniors vs. Tigre (Sun, 18:40)

Colón vs. Racing in the clash to avoid the relegation playoffs may still be over a week off, but the off-pitch battle has already begun. La Academia have been angered after the Santa Fé club’s decision to use their home advantage to the greatest possible degree by giving them only 2,200 away tickets. Meanwhile, former Racing boss Reinaldo Merlo is going to Ecuador’s Barcelona de Guayaquil.

The number of tickets allowed for Racing in the final day, winner-takes-all clash has disappointed many at the Avellaneda club. It’s half the total that River Plate were allowed when they visited Colón a couple of weeks ago, and the reduced capacity is apparently due to Colón’s petition to the authorities to treat the high-pressure match as ‘high risk’. And, it’s got to be said, they might have a point - not that many of the media in Argentina are looking at it that way, regardless of the endless articles they publish about the country needing to tighten up security arrangements following every new death or riot in the stands.

It’s frustrating for Racing’s fans and for the players too, who’ll be missing that support. Claudio Yacob told the press; ‘They want to come and see us and very few can. But in Santa Fé things will be fine, because our fans shout louder than any others.’ José Shaffer hit a similar note, with his comment that, ‘I don’t understand… when teams come to play us, we give them the whole of the away end… [our fans] are going to travel anyway, I can’t imagine how many will be in the gates to the stadium.’ He apparently doesn’t see the potential danger in that situation. Of the players who spoke publicly on the issue, only Maxi Moralez hit the right tone. ‘It’s a pain,’ the youngster said, ‘but if it’s for security, what can we do?’

Manager Juan Manuel Llop also put things sensibly when talking to his squad. ‘On the pitch it’s going to be eleven versus eleven. The ones in the stands or outside the ground aren’t kicking the ball. The fans help, but if 50,000 of them travel with us, they’re not going to score a goal. It’s us who have to work for the victory.’

Reinaldo ‘Mostaza‘ Merlo, meanwhile, is moving on to pastures new: he’s trying his hand in charge of Barcelona de Guayaquil, Ecuador’s biggest club. Barcelona have a good history with Argentine bosses - their last four titles have come under them - and currently have a number of players with whom Merlo will be familiar, including Chelo Delgado and Rolando Zárate. The fact that they’re actually willing to employ the man, though, might suggest they didn’t see what he did to River and Racing in his most recent spells in charge of those two clubs…

Following their away goals defeat to LDU Quito in the Copa Libertadores semi-final, and their dreadful campaign in domestic competition in Mexico, Club América are after a manager, and former River Plate, San Lorenzo and… um… Oxford United boss Ramón Díaz looks set to take charge with Miguel Angel Russo likely to replace him in Boedo following San Lorenzo’s own Libertadores defeat to LDU, who have a lot to answer for. River and Boca Juniors, meanwhile, have both had speculation about their star forwards in recent days, but both confirmed on Wednesday that neither Diego Buonanotte nor Rodrigo Palacio are going anywhere.

Díaz, who left San Lorenzo at the start of last week, looks set to be replaced by Miguel Angel Russo, the former Vélez Sársfield and Boca boss. Club president Rafael Savino began discussing the name of Díaz’s successor after their quarter-final Copa Libertadores exit - if Russo says no, Leonardo Astrada and Américo Gallego are the next down the list - in a Buenos Aires bar on the corners of Calles (streets) Entre Ríos and, fittingly, México, which is where Russo’s predecessor Díaz seems to be off to (the country, not the street).

There’s not a lot to say about the rumours that Díaz is about to take over at América, except that the Mexican media are reporting it as a done deal, and with Televisa, the largest media company in Latin America, owning several of Mexico’s biggest football clubs - including América themselves - that probably means it’s a fairly safe bet. Díaz will be unveiled, according to the reports, on Friday after club president Michel Bauer travelled to Buenos Aires on Tuesday to discuss his contract.

Potentially good news for América, then, and there’s some very good news indeed for fans of Argentina’s two biggest clubs. Diego Buonanotte, the best player and top scorer of River’s championship-winning side, has expressed his wish to remain in Núñez for the time being, and the club are happy to accomodate him, whilst Rodrigo Palacio isn’t budging from Boca Juniors - for now.

Buonanotte was struggling to get into River’s reserve team a little over a year ago, but his improvement since an amazing display in the Apertura superclásico has been phenomenal, and he’s come on leaps and bounds in particular since Diego Simeone took over at the helm of the club. 12 months ago, a loan spell at Olimpo de Bahía Blanca was being discussed. Now, what does River vice-president Mario Israel have to say about El Enano’s place in the team? ‘Buonanotte isn’t for sale. He’s staying at River.’ He’ll surely be in Europe sooner or later - but the emphasis, for now, is on ‘later’.

Boca meanwhile have rejected an offer from Lazio for €14 million, an astronomical sum for a South American club to turn down, and Palacio hasn’t expressed any disappointment at all - he’s told reporters that if he leaves Argentina, it will be to play in Spain, not in Italy. Palacio - who’s on an equally high US$1 million-per-season contract, is valued by Boca more highly than the fee Lazio offered, particularly after the transfers in the last year-and-a-half of Fernando Gago (to Real Madrid, US$27m) and Ever Banega (to Valencia, US$26m). The fact that he’s not as good as either of those players isn’t putting them off insisting that, unless a significantly higher offer comes in, Palacio isn’t going anywhere.

Independiente aren’t yet out of the hunt for a Copa Sudamericana place, but if they qualify for continental competition they’ll be playing in it next season without their top scorer Germán Denis, whose transfer to Napoli is looking more and more like a done deal. Colón manager Antonio ‘El Turco‘ Mohamed, meanwhile, is refusing to apologise for insulting the referee near the end of his side’s match with Estudiantes on Sunday - an action for which he was sent off.

Denis will get a second bite of the Italian cherry (he previously played for Cesena in Serie C1 but scored only three goals in an unhappy first period in Europe) alongside countrymen Ezequiel Lavezzi and young goalkeeper Nicolás Navarro at the Stadio San Paolo. The Italian club, who will play in the third round of the Intertoto Cup and must be hopeful of qualifying for the UEFA Cup, have agreed to pay US$11 million, of which, after taxes, agents’ fees and so on, Independiente will see about US$8.5 million.

‘It’s certain,’ Jorge Cyterszpiler, the agent contracted to deal with the transfer, the man who once took Diego Maradona to Napoli. ‘They’re very interested in signing him, they know him well. I’ve already met with Julio [Comparada, Independiente president], and I’m optimistic. But whatever happens, [Denis] will play Arsenal on the last day.’ He won’t, however, be staying any longer than that.

Mohamed, for his part, was unrepentant when given the chance to apologise to Héctor Baldassi for storming onto the pitch to yell at the referee after Baldassi failed to award a penalty for a clear foul by Estudiantes’ Ezequiel Maggiolo on Darío Gandín six minutes from the end - a win would have virtually ended Colón’s relegation worries going into the last-day, winner-takes-all clash with Racing. ‘It’s happened already, I won’t punish him any more…’ El Turco told reporters on Monday, albeit without actually apologising. ‘It was a very clear penalty that’s going to form a precedent. With a victory, we’d have been practically out of [relegation worries]. But there’s nothing we can do…’

Nothing, indeed. Except, perhaps, meditate on some of the bad decisions that have gone against Racing this season.

There were only 19 goals in the Primera A this weekend, but a lot of them were vital ones, and none more so than Facundo Sava’s to help Racing avoid direct relegation, Diego Buonanotte’s brace which gave River Plate the title, or Gonzalo Bergessio’s hat-trick to hand San Lorenzo qualification for the Copa Sudamericana at their opponents’ expense. To see them all on the TN sports blog, click here, then read on for the full running order of this video, as well as the best few strikes of the week courtesy of GolesTV. And if all you want to see is a few highlights of River beating Olimpo, followed by the title celebrations, you’ll find them here…

Running order for TN Show de Goles:
River (white shirts w/ red sash) vs. Olimpo (black & gold stripes)
Lanús (maroon) vs. Boca (navy & gold)
Arsenal (sky blue & red) vs. Gimnasia (navy & white)
Newell’s (red & black halves) vs. Gimnasia de Jujuy (white & sky blue)
Racing (navy) vs. Huracán (white)
San Lorenzo (navy & red stripes) vs. Banfield (green & white stripes)
Tigre (navy & red) vs. Argentinos (red)

My favourites of the week:

Buonanotte: River 1 - 0 Olimpo (16th min)

Buonanotte: River 2 - 1 Olimpo (78th min)

Carranza: Newell’s 1 - 2 Gimnasia de Jujuy (64th min)

Salcedo: Newell’s 2 - 2 Gimnasia de Jujuy (70th min)

Civelli: San Lorenzo 2 - 1 Banfield (34th min)

With one match remaining of the Torneo Clausura 2008, two issues at least are cleared up: River Plate are champions thanks to two goals from Diego Buonanotte, and San Lorenzo are in the Copa Sudamericana courtesy of a Gonzalo Bergessio hat-trick. Racing’s defeat of Huracán means they won’t be going down automatically, and thanks to the same two results that gave River the title - their own win over Olimpo and Estudiantes’ draw with Colón - La Academia may yet save themselves from the relegation situation altogether when they take on Colón, currently above them by the slimmest of margins, in the final game in two weeks. Boca’s win on Sunday evening takes them above Estudiantes and into second. In Primera B Nacional, meanwhile, right back Cristián Vella’s 94th-minute equaliser for Ben Hur against Unión de Santa Fé means that Godoy Cruz de Mendoza are back in the Primera A next season. They play fellow promotees San Martín de Tucumán on Monday.

Primera División A Torneo Clausura 2008: eighteenth round
Arsenal de Sarandí (L. Leguizamón 45+1) 1 - 0 Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata (G. Sanguinetti (manager) OFF 79)
Newell’s Old Boys (S. Salcedo 57, 71) 2 - 2 Gimnasia y Esgrima de Jujuy (M. Quinteros 38; C. Carranza 64)
Racing Club (F. Sava 35; G. Mercado OFF 28 ) 1 - 0 Huracán (F. Nieto OFF 28 )
San Martín de San Juan 0 - 0 Rosario Central
Tigre (M. Galamarini 12) 1 - 0 Argentinos Juniors
San Lorenzo de Almagro (G. Bergessio 17, 24, 73) 3 - 2 Banfield (L. Civelli 38; D. Cvitanich 53; J. Barraza OFF 90+1)
Vélez Sársfield 0 - 0 Independiente
Estudiantes de La Plata 0 - 0 Colón de Santa Fé (A. Mohamed (manager) OFF 86)
River Plate (D. Buonanotte 16, 78 ) 2 - 1 Olimpo de Bahía Blanca (J. Lujambio 65)
Lanús (S. Salomón 14) 1 - 3 Boca Juniors (M. Palermo 45+3, 56; R. Palacio 74)

It took a lot of digging deep in Sunday’s match against a spirited and highly motivated Olimpo, but after four long years River Plate are finally able to call themselves champions of Argentina again. Thanks to a stellar performance from young gun Diego Buonanotte, Diego Simeone’s side claimed the club’s 33rd professional league title, beating the bahíenses 2-1 in El Monumental whilst Simeone’s former club, Estudiantes, could only draw with Colón. those results mean the championship race ends one round before the season does, but also leave the relegation battle going all the way down to the wire…

River dominated the opening exchanges against Olimpo, raining down attacks on their struggling opponents and forcing Olimpo goalkeeper José Ramírez into a string of fine saves throughout the opening period. Although Olimpo had had their chances, River were a little unfortunate to lead by only one goal after 45 minutes, Buonanotte finishing strongly from just outside the penalty box in the 16th minute after a half-cleared corner. There were more chances - most notably when Radamel Falcao García blazed inches over after the ball rebounded to him off the crossbar following a corner - but Olimpo hung on and trailed by only one at the break.

In the second half, Olimpo came out fired up, knowing that they had to win in order to save themselves from automatic relegation, and River, already forced back onto the counter at times in the first half, had to hold strong, looking a little shocked at first that Daniel Florit’s side, having taken 15 points from a possible 18 in their previous six matches, were coming at them so readily.

Olimpo got their reward for the spirit and adventure they showed away to one of the country’s biggest teams when Josemir Lujambio, so often their saviour this season, equalised twenty minutes into the second half. River’s fans, though, who haven’t always had the best of relationships with some of their players during this campaign, continued to roar their support from the packed stands, as the team carried on pressing forward. The players responded: Matías Ahumada was superb in the middle, Ariel Ortega pulled the strings just behind the front three and Juan Pablo Carrizo, admonished after signing for Lazio early on this season, did what was asked of him when Olimpo did breach the defence.

Radamel Falcao García drew some everyman sympathy after he collided with Ramírez whilst chasing a through ball and there was some light relief as those of us who know what it’s like to walk into the corner of a table were able to watch highly-trained sportsmen rolling around in agony after a clash of knees. Minutes later, Falcao was flagged very narrowly offside, but in the 33rd minute it was Buonanotte who sprung the visitors’ trap, running onto a through ball from the superb Ortega and finishing right-footed across the face of goal to send the home crowd into raptures.

Whilst this was all going on, Estudiantes were giving their all and absolutely battering Colón de Santa Fé in the Estadio Municipal de La Plata, but couldn’t find a way through the visitors’ defence. River hung on and attention switched to the closing minutes in La Plata. At the final whistle, Colón, who now go into the final weekend’s relegation head-to-head with Racing knowing a draw will be enough for safety, celebrating as if they’d won the championship. River, after a hiatus many of the country’s most domestically-successful fans will feel was far too long, finally have done. Manager Diego Simeone may still be a long way off finding his ideal side, but the loss in the superclásico and the spectacular capitulation to San Lorenzo in the Copa Libertadores will be forgiven and forgotten now the trophy drought is over.

At the end of a long, hard, terrible season, Racing Club can finally be sure of one thing that is, at least slightly, positive. A Facundo Sava goal ten minutes before the break gave them a 1-0 victory over Huracán in El Cilindro, and with it the certainty that they won’t be in the direct relegation zone after their one remaining match in two weeks. Their second win of the Clausura came the day after Gimnasia de Jujuy could only draw, 2-2, away to Newell’s, and draws them level on points with Colón, who play Estudiantes on Sunday - and Racing themselves on the last weekend.

Racing fans, then, are hoping for an Estudiantes win on Sunday (a result which would also guarantee the title race going to the final day) which would bring the points-per-game average to exactly the same between the two sides, and turn the final round match in Santa Fé into a winner-takes-all battle: one to achieve complete safety, the other to go into the relegation playoffs.

The win came thanks to Sava’s finish in the 35th minute, the striker pouncing on a defensive error and tucking the ball away like the seasoned finisher Racing’s fans have been wishing he actually was all season long. Of course, there was no little agony in the wait for the final whistle as the minutes of the second half ticked slowly down, with sendings off for Gabriel Mercado for the hosts and Federico Nieto for Huracán, but this score, combined with Friday’s night’s draw in Rosario - Paraguayan forward Santiago Salcedo scoring twice, one a stunner, to twice peg Gimnasia de Jujuy back in Parque de la Independencia - means Racing can’t now finish in the bottom two of the Promedio. Dropped points for Colón tomorrow would mean a Racing win in Santa Fé on the last day would give them an escape from relegation worries altogether. But for now, La Academia are simply celebrating what they’ve achieved thus far.

Germán Denis has been banging the goals in for Independiente regularly for some time now, so it’s no surprise to hear him linked with a European club, and according to Italy’s Corriere dello Sport, he could be on his way to join Ezequiel Lavezzi at Napoli. Diego Maradona’s former club are reportedly preparing an €8 million bid for the striker. San Lorenzo, meanwhile, prepare for their match against Banfield with some familiar faces back in the squad

There’s been reported interest from Russia and Saudi Arabia as well, but Napoli look by far the most appealing from the footballing aspect and will be offering Denis the chance to test himself in one of Europe’s biggest leagues, and for that reason they’ve become instant favourites to land him. It would be a chance to Denis to put behind him memories of his previous spell in Italy, when in the 2001-2002 season he managed just three goals for Cesena in Serie C1. Torino had an offer of US$7.5 million turned down by the club, whilst Russian side Kazan Rubin had their US$10 million offer accepted with glee, but failed to agree terms with Denis, who favours a move to Italy.

San Lorenzo will be back to full strength on Saturday against Banfield, Ramón Díaz having left the club on Tuesday (this wasn’t reported on the site because it got swallowed up in amongst the preperations for the Copa Libertadores semi-final. Sorry). Norberto Batista, the caretaker manager until the end of the Torneo Clausura, has confirmed that the exiled Agustín Orión, Jonathan Bottinelli and Bernardo Romeo will return to the squad for the match with Banfield. Díaz’s sons Michael and Emiliano, meanwhile, whose presence in their dad’s squads had caused friction with those members of the team who could actually play football, are notably left out.

The goals from the seventeenth round of the 2008 Torneo Clausura are online now, and you can watch them right here on the TN sport blog (ignore the ‘Nacional B fecha 36′ in the link address, this will take you to the Primera A goals). As usual, read on for the running order, and my pick of the weekend’s best strikes thanks to our friends at GolesTV.

Running order for TN Show de Goles:
Colón (red & black halves) vs. River (white, red sash)
Olimpo (white, black & gold trim) vs. San Lorenzo (red & navy stripes)
Boca (navy & gold) vs. Arsenal (sky blue & red)
Argentinos (white) vs. Lanús (maroon)
Banfield (green & white stripes) vs. Newell’s (red & black halves)
Central (yellow, blue trim) vs. Tigre (blue & red)
Gimnasia de Jujuy (white & sky blue) vs. San Martín (green & black stripes)
Huracán (navy) vs. Estudiantes (red & white stripes)
Gimnasia LP (navy & white) vs. Vélez (white, navy ‘V’)

My favourites:

Boselli: Boca 2 - 1 Arsenal (74th min)

Boselli: Boca 3 - 1 Arsenal (80th min)

Sánchez: Colón 0 - 2 River (77th min)

Barrado: Olimpo 2 - 1 San Lorenzo (50th min)

Hauche: Argentinos 2 - 0 Lanús (23rd min)

Vizcarra: Central 2 - 1 Tigre (47th min)

Central began the weekend by virtually assuring themselves of safety, whilst Olimpo, in the penultimate match of the round, came from nowhere to leap out of the automatic relegation spots for the first time this season. Boca came from behind to beat Arsenal de Sarandí on Sunday evening, and thus stay in the fight for the title - but River must now be favourites going into the last two matches, after opening up a two-point lead over second-placed Estudiantes on Sunday. The clásico de Avellaneda finished goalless.

Primera División A Torneo Clausura 2008, seventeenth round:
Rosario Central (A. Danelón 34; J. L. Vizcarra 47; T. Costa 64; M. Arzuaga 76) 4 -2 Tigre (D. Leyes 37; R. Martínez 50)
Argentinos Juniors (A. Pereira 20, 76; G. Hauche 23) 3 - 0 Lanús
Independiante 0 - 0 Racing Club
Gimnasia y Esgrima de Jujuy (C. Carranza 8, 70; H. Desvaux 64) 3 - 1 San Martín de San Juan (P. Frontini 32)
Banfield 0 - 1 Newell’s Old Boys (S. Salcedo 45)
Huracán (F. Nieto 26) 1 - 1 Estudiantes de La Plata (J. S. Verón 4)
Colón de Santa Fé (D. Gandín 80) 1 - 2 River Plate (C. Villagra 56; A. Sánchez 77; L. Ponzio OFF 18)
Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata (J. E. Cuevas 17; N. Martirena 90+2) 2 - 1 Vélez Sársfield (W. Ponce 4)
Olimpo de Bahía Blanca (D. Barrado 48, 50; F. Mancinelli 90+5) 3 - 2 San Lorenzo de Almagro (N. Silvera 45, 67)
Boca Juniors (M. Boselli 58, 74, 80) 3 - 1 Arsenal de Sarandí (L. Leguizamón 46)

As ever, check back on Monday evening for the goal videos. And I will update the league tables page this week, I promise. That’ll also happen on Monday evening.

With two matches remaining of the 2008 Torneo Clausura, River Plate edged narrowly ahead of Estudiantes in the table, and with the opening of a two-point gap at the top of the table they can keep alive their dream of claiming a first trophy in four years, in Diego Simeone’s first campaign in charge. River played relegation-threatened Colón in Santa Fé and won 2-1 despite going a man down just twenty minutes in, whilst Estudiantes, at the same time, were away to Huracán and, despite going ahead early on through a Seba Verón penalty, could only draw.

River, with Diego Simeone still, this late on in the campaign, searching for his ideal team, started with a flexible 3-3-3-1, Ariel Ortega granted his first start since May’s superclásico against Boca Juniors. Colón had pressure too - a win would give them almost guaranteed safety in the battle against relegation. It was they who started with more impetus, the midfield trio of Alejandro Capurro, Germán Rivarola and Sebastián Romero outplaying their opposite numbers. Things looked to be going the hosts’ way when Leonardo Ponzio got a second booking after only 18 minutes, and Simeone was obliged to re-draw the defensive strategy.

Following Ponzio’s ejection, River, ironically, looked more focussed. Oscar Ahumada, in superb form since a public argument with the club’s fans after the superclásico, grew in confidence whilst Ortega demanded the responsibility of creating. With the effort they put in, River didn’t allow Colón to make the extra man show, the only real chance coming when Darío Gandín hit the post. At the break the visitors were still deservedly level.

In the second half, Antonio Mohamed sent on attacking midfielder Lucas Acosta for the more defensively-minded Pablo Jérez, but it was River who broke the deadlock, left-back Cristián Villagra finishing like a seasoned striker to score his first River goal after Matías Abelairas and Ortega had combined to set him free. A couple more changes from Mohamed’s Colón side forced Simeone to withdraw Sebastián Abreu for a midfielder of his own, Augusto Fernádez, to even up the battle in the middle. With fifteen minutes to go, Ortega, joint man-of-the-match with Ahumada, was withdrawn and his replacement, Andrés Ríos, who within a minute had hared down the left, beating two men, and switched the play brilliantly to the right, where young Chilean Alexis Sánchez hit a beautiful shot to double River’s lead.

Gandín equalised almost accidentally with ten minutes left, and the closing minutes were played almost entirely in the River half, but Simeone’s men, a man down but having played as if with a full complement for most of the match, hung on for a deserved win.

Meanwhile, Estudiantes, having kicked off at the same time as their title rivals, were dropping two crucial points away to Mohamed’s old club, Huracán. Almost the first action of the half saw Juan Sebastián Verón send a long ball forward from well inside his own half, which looked like it was going nowhere. But Huracán goalkeeper Marcelo Barovero  had other ideas. Racing from his line, he made a total hash of his clearance and Iván Moreno y Fabianesi smacked in a shot which was deflected away from the goal by the a combination of the arm and chest of Angel Puertas. The referee gave a penalty, Verón stepped up, and just four minutes in, Estudiantes were leading.

Huracán responded by upping the tempo even as Estudiantes stepped forward to defend further away from their own goal. Federico Nieto had two good opportunities which went begging, but Estudiantes were fashioning chances of their own to put the match to bed early on. They didn’t take them, though, and were pegged back 26 minutes in when Nieto made it third time lucky, rising above his momentarily disinterested markers to power home a header and make it 1-1. For the remainder of the half, the ball almost didn’t find itself tarnished by contact with the grass at all, both sides electing to play it long and keep in the air.

The second half looked nervous and Estudiantes, as news came in of River’s lead in Santa Fé, knew they had to take three points. Aside from two or three shots from mid-distance, they had nothing to say for themselves, and thus River, who play Olimpo in El Monumental next weekend, could claim the title if Estudiantes drop points again… against Colón. After four years of waiting, though, no Gallina will be counting their chickens just yet…