Golazo: Mauro Formica vs Gimnasia La Plata, Clausura 2010

On the last day of the January 2011 transfer window English side Blackburn Rovers signed little known 22 year old Argentine midfielder Mauro Formica from Newell's Old Boys for a fee of £3.5 million.

Formica has scored 20 goals for Newell's in 83 appearances since making his debut for the club at the age of 18 back in September 2006. On his day he looked like a great player although claims that he is the "new Maradona" are miles off the mark. One of his best performances came in this 6-0 demolition of Gimnasia de La Plata at the back end of the Clausura 2010 tournament in which he scored two goals including this spectacular finish.

Formica has a lot of confidence and potential so Blackburn fans should be pleased with the aquisition at such a modest price, however if he is not allowed a regular run in the first team to establish himself he may well become one of the legion of South American players to leave the Premier League without much success.

Part of the Golazo series.

Cosas locas: Nicolás Spolli vs Paulo Ferrari

When Rosario rivals Newell's Old Boys and Rosario Central met in the preliminary round of the 2005 Copa Sudamericana most people expected the tie to be hard fought. After only two minutes of play Newell's defender Nicolás Spolli proved just how hard fought the game would be with a this chest high kung-fu kick on Central full back Paulo Ferrari.

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

Biography: José Yudica

José Yudica is a former Argentine football manager who was the first manager ever to win the Primera División with three different clubs. What is even more impressive is the fact that none of the teams he turned into championship winners were from the traditional big five.

Yudica was born in Rosario on 7 December 1936, he made his debut for his local team; Newell's Old Boys at the age of 17. He enjoyed a 16 year playing career with the likes of Boca Juniors, Vélez Sársfield, Estudiantes de La Plata, Quilmes and Platense, he also played four games for the Argentina national team. Yudica won his only silverware as a player with Colombian side Deportivo Cali in the late 1960s before returning to Argentina to play for 2nd division side San Telmo where he ended his playing career.

Yudica's first great success as a manager came in 1978 when he led Buenos Aires minnows Quilmes to their first and only championship; the Metropolitano 1978 only 3 years after they had been promoted from the 2nd level. In 1980 Yudica left Quilmes to take over at Estudiantes de La Plata, in his absence Quilmes struggled and were relegated to the 2nd division only 2 seasons after winning the Metropolitano championship.

Yudica returned to Quilmes in 1981 and secured their promotion back to the top flight at the first attempt with a 2nd place finish. Instead of continuing with Quilmes in the Primera División he was persuaded to take over at San Lorenzo who had been relegated from the Primera for the first time in their history the previous season. Yudica led them back to the Primera División as champions at the first attempt. He remained in charge of the club until 1985 when he took over at first time champions Argentinos Juniors after their previous manager Roberto Saporiti had left to take over at Colombian side Atlético Junior.

Yudica kept faith with most of Saporiti's championship winning players and helped them to win their 2nd consecutive league championship before leading them to triumph in the Copa Libertadores in 1985, beating América de Cali in the final. Argentinos Juniors became only the 2nd club to win South America's premier club competition at the first attempt after Brazilian side Flamengo in 1981.

Yudica also led Argentinos Juniors to victory in the now defunct Copa Interamericana in 1986 and a defeat on penalties after a 2-2 draw against Juventus in the 1985 Intercontinental Cup.

In 1987 Yudica returned to his boyhood club Newell's Old Boys as their manager and led them to the Primera Division championship in the 1987-88 season making him the first manager to win the Argentine league with three separate teams, the only other manager to achieve this feat since then is Américo Gallego who did it with River Plate, Independiente and Newell's Old Boys.

In 1990 Yudica took over at Colombian side Deportivo Cali before returning to Argentinos Juniors in 1992 where he had an infamous confrontation with the Barras Bravas (ultras) who accosted him after a practice session about why the team were performing badly in the league. He replied "I am the manager and you belong in the stands". This did not go down well and the irate fans attacked his son, who was his assistant kicking and punching him. Yudica eventually broke up the confrontation by firing a gun in the air, he immediately resigned as manager and severed all connections with the club where he had achieved some of his greatest managerial triumphs, having led them to national and international glory.

Yudica had a stint in charge of another of his former clubs in 1993 when he was manager of Platense and he returned as manager of Newell's once again in 1995. He won yet another league championship in 1996, but this time in Mexico with Pachuca. His last managerial appointment was back at Quilmes in 1997. He has not worked as a manager since then and has spoken of how he felt that he had been frozen out of the game.  He is now an old man and a virtually forgotten figure in Argentine football, which is a real shame because in terms of managerial achievement he is the Brian Clough of Argentine football.

See also

José Yudica - el exilado del fútbol (in Spanish)

Cosas locas: Not very friendly.

8 August 2009: Uruguayan side Peñarol hosted Argentine visitors Newell's Old Boys in a friendly match. After 40 minutes the game descended into a mass brawl after aggression from Peñarol midfielder Julio Mozzo towards Newell's player Diego Mateo. Eventually the Newell's Old Boys players left the field refusing to play on and the game was abandoned.

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

Golazo: Ariel Ortega, Newell's Old Boys vs River Plate, Apertura 2005

Former River Plate legend Ariel Ortega had already led Newell's Old Boys to the Apertura 2004 championship ending a dry spell lasting 13 years.

He had already scored a penalty against River Plate in the Clausura 2005. In the following season, Apertura 2005 he followed in his own free kick against River with this magnificent volley and as with his earlier penalty he refused to celebrate out of respect for the River Plate fans. This run of goals against his former club was ended when River decided to resign him in 2006.

Part of the Golazo series.

Omar Zarif own goal

Omar Zarif scored a classic own goal to gift Newell's Old Boys a 1-0 win in the Apertura 2009 in Argentina. His team Chacarita Juniors were relegated at the end of the season.

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

Biography: Ariel Ortega

Ariel Ortega was born on 4 March 1974 in Jujuy, Argentina, he made his debut for River Plate in 1991. He won 3 league titles, played alongside the great Leonardo Astrada, Hernán Crespo and Enzo Francescoli with the club and was part of the squad that won River's second Copa Libertadores in 1996.

Following this success he moved to European football where he played for Valencia, Sampdoria and Parma.

He was often described as the "new Maradona" as he filled the talented creative midfielder role and the famous number 10 shirt for Argentina in the 1998 World Cup. The team were eliminated in the Quarter Finals with Ortega sent off in the 87th minute and Denis Bergkamp scoring his memorable last minute winner. Ortega took much of the blame for Argentina's poor performance.

In 2000 he returned to River Plate where he won another league title. In 2002 he joined Turkish side Fenerbahçe, but he didn't settle, breaking his contract with the club to return to Argentina. He was heavily fined and banned from playing football until the end of 2003 for breach of contract.


When Ortega did return to the football field it was for Newell's Old Boys, he played an instrumental role in helping the club win the Apertura 2004 tournament, their first title in 12 years.


Following his success at Newell's he returned to River Plate for a 3rd stint with the club, winning yet another league title in 2008. Shortly after this he had a bust up with manager Diego Simeone and was sent out on loan to 2nd division side Independiente Rivadavia, while he was away River endured their worst season ever finishing in 20th position, bottom of the table for the first time in 107 years of history. Simeone resigned and Ortega returned to River where he still plays aged 36.


Ortega never lived up to the "new Maradona" tag, but his haul of 5 Argentina league championships, 1 Copa Libertadores medal and 88 caps and 17 goals for Argentina, show that he was still a great player and his ability to chip goalkeepers is a joy to behold.

Great goals: Guillermo Marino, NEWELL'S vs Quilmes, Apertura 2004 - Un Obra de arte.

In 2004 Américo Gallego led Newell's Old Boys to their first championship in 12 years, making him only the 2nd manager to win the league championship with 3 different teams alongside legendary manager José Yudica. One of the highlights of this campaign was this classic counter attack goal against Quilmes. The move started when Guillermo Marino intercepted posession on the edge of the Newell's penalty area, 12 seconds and 5 passes later he finished the move with a strike from the edge of the Quilmes area. It was described by the commentator as "un obra de arte" (a work of art).

Part of the Golazo series.