Emmanuel Gigliotti vs Arsenal, Clausura 2011

On 14 May 2011 Emmanuel Gigliotti scored this brilliant goal to give All Boys a 1-0 win against Arsenal de Sarandí, a result that virtually guarantees their Primera División survival.

Part of the Golazo series.

Pablo Velazquez vs All Boys, Clausura 2011

On 4 March 2011 All Boys faced San Lorenzo in the fourth round of the Clausura 2011 tournament. The game was pretty evenly balanced until All Boys hard man Hugo Barrientos got himself sent off early in the second half. San Lorenzo capitalised scoring three quality team goals for an important confidence building 0-3 away win. The pick of the San Lorenzo goals was their second which came from great combination play between ex-West Brom midfielder Juan Carlos Menseguéz and their new Paraguayan signing Pablo Velázquez. The final pass from Menseguéz to Velázquez showed the real awareness of an intelligent footballer.

Part of the Golazo series.

Emanuel Gigliotti vs Maxi Moralez

Saturday 19 February 2011 will be a date to remember for Argentine minnows All Boys who recorded a famous 1-2 away win against giant neighbours Vélez Sársfield. Sebastián Grazzini scored both of All Boys goals and there were brilliant performances from several other All Boys players like the gigantic forward Cristián Fabianni. Not only did All Boys beat Vélez, they finished the game with only nine players after Carlos Soto and Emanuel Gigliotti were sent off late in the game. Gigliotti's challenge on Maxi Moralez earned him a deserved straight red card.

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

Hugo Barrientos vs Gio Moreno

On 13 February 2011 in the opening round of the Clausura 2011 tournament All Boys played Racing Club in an ill tempered game featuring far more silly fouls and yellow cards than entertaining passages of play. The big moment of controversy happened on 78 minutes when All Boys' midfield enforcer Hugo Barrientos and Racing's Colombian midfielder Giovanni Moreno collided near the halfway line. Moreno was stretchered off and in the aftermath Barrientos received death threats against him and his family following the announcement that Moreno could be out for up to six months.

it is hard to see how Moreno ended up so badly injured, however if the referee had maintained better control of the game and stopped the pair from bickering all the way through the match this incident probably wouldn't have happaned.

En contra: Fabio Segovia, All Boys vs Banfield, Apertura 2010

On 3 December 2010 All Boys hosted Banfield in the 17th round of the Apertura 2010 tournament. The opening goal was this unfortunate own goal from Fabio Segovia who turned a rebound off the post into his own net. All Boys scored a second goal after another rebound off the post before Banfield hit a brilliant consolation goal to make the final score 2-1.

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

Nicolás Cambiasso goalkeeper mistake

To be fair to him, Nicolás Cambiasso could never have been expecting such a long range backpass, however it is still no excuse for what happened next in this game between divisional new boys Quilmes and All Boys in the 16th round of the Apertura 2010 tournament in the Argentine Primera Division 2010-11 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.