Gimnasia Jujuy 3-4 Huracán - Partidazo

In the fifth round of matches in Apertura 2008 two of the likely looking relegation candidates met in a crucial encounter. The hosts Gimnasia y Esgrima de Jujuy took a 2-1 lead but the visitors but Huracán scored twice to lead 3-2. The home team rallied late in the game and secured the win with spectacular goals from Jorge Luna and Fabio Peters.

The game marked the end of Claudio Ubeda's reign as Huracán manager and he was eventually replaced by Ángel Cappa who led them to within touching distance of the Clausura 2009 championship only to be denied by a very debatable goal in a crazy last game of the season decider against Vélez. Gimnasia were relegated at the end of the 2008-09 season at the foot of the promedios relegation table.

For more great games involving South American teams, check out the rest of the Partidazo series.

En Contra: Facundo Quiroga bicycle kick own goal for Racing Club

On 28 September 2008 River Plate defender Facundo Quiroga scored one of the truly great own goals with a bicycle kick to start the scoring in an entertaining 3-3 draw with Racing Club.

For more crazy South American football check out the rest of the Cosas locas series.

Pigeon killer Aguirre

It was the most important game in the history of Club Atlético Tigre. It was the first leg of the 3 way playoff at the end of the Apertura 2008 championship.There was a huge TV audience for this unexpected pre-Christmas bonus game and they all saw San Lorenzo's Gastón Aguirre kill an innocent pigeon.

For those of you who are actually interested in the football the results were:

Tigre 1-2 San Lorenzo
Boca Juniors 3-1 San Lorenzo
Boca Juniors 0-1 Tigre

Which meant that Boca Juniors won on goal difference, a tad unfair considering that at the end of the regular season San Lorenzo had by far the better goal difference and Tigre had the better head-to-head but they had to play the end of season playoff with Boca Juniors who were awarded the championship on goaldifference after a 3 way tie.

See also

Gastón Aguirre's own goal.

For more crazy South American football check out the rest of the Cosas locas series.

Partidazo: Godoy Cruz 4-1 Boca Juniors, Apertura 2008 - The rise of el Tomba.

On September 28 2008 newly promoted provincial minnows Godoy Cruz hosted Boca Juniors in the 8th round of the Apertura 2008 tournament. The home team were struggling to adapt to life in the Primera, they had lost 4 of their opening 7 games and looked in danger of reliving the relegation that came at the end of their only previous season in the Primera División in 2006-07.

Nearly everyone expected a routine win for Boca Juniors, who at that time were still the strongest and most consistent team in the league. When Leandro Gracián scored for the visitors shortly before half time nobody was surprised.

What happened next can be seen as a turning point for the Mendoza outfit, veteran Colombian Jairo Castillo got one back before half time and after the break Leonardo Sigali scored to give the home side the lead, then Castillo netted twice more for the most famous hat-trick of his career.

This 4-1 result against one of the giants of Argentine football seemed to give the team the confidence to beat the bigger teams. In the remainder of the Apertura El Tomba also recorded a dramatic last minute win against Estudiantes de La Plata and an impressive away win against River Plate.

By the end of the Clausura they had accumulated sufficient points to avoid relegation. The following season they consolidated their position and managed to finish 3rd in the Clausura. In the 2 years since this game Godoy Cruz have firmly established themselves as one of the strongest sides in the Argentine top flight.

For more great games involving South American teams, check out the rest of the Partidazo series.