Emerson dos caños contra São Paulo
On Sunday 26 June 2011 Corinthians hosted São Paulo in the 6th round of the Brasileirão 2011 tournament. On paper it should have been a tough game for Corinthians given that São Paulo were the league leaders and the only side to win all of their opening five games however Corinthians won the game 5-0 and 2nd late substitute Emerson took the opportunity to do some real showboating pulling off two nutmegs in the space of 30 seconds.
River Plate relegated
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| River Plate goalkeeper Juan Pablo Carrizo crying at the end of the match. |
With 33 Primera División titles, River Plate are by far the most successful side in Argentine domestic football and are the second most popular team in Argentina after their bitter Superclásico rivals Boca Juniors. Even after River lost the first leg of their promotion/relegation play-off 2-0 in Córdoba the majority of Argentine football supporters still seemed certain that AFA (the Argentine Football Association) would prevent River's relegation through dodgy refereeing, pressure on their opponents or a hasty rewriting of the relegation rules.
As it turned out even a debatably awarded penalty couldn't save River Plate from their fate meaning that next season they will be playing second tier football for the first time since they won promotion to the Argentine top flight in 1908. Their descent leaves only three teams never to have experience relegation, River's eternal rivals Boca Juniors, Club Atlético Independiente and minnows Arsenal de Sarandí who have survived the last eight seasons without relegation.
Under the play-off rules River Plate needed to finish level on aggregate with Belgrano in order to remain in the Primera División and having lost the first leg 2-0 River needed a two goal margain of victory in order to survive. This may have seemed fairly achievable objective for one of the giants of Argentine football in their own stadium, however 8 games without a win, a haul of only 15 goals in 19 league games and a run of 13 consecutive matches without scoring more than a single goal put the scale of the task into perspective.
The game
Both sides managed to find the net within the first few minutes of the game, Belgrano's goal was correctly disallowed for offside then Mariano Pavone hit a cracking goal for the hosts after only five minutes of play. The goal was greeted with wild celebrations and a renewed sense of optimism around "El Monumental". River Plate played the better football for the remainder of the first half without managing to find their vital second goal.
In the second half Belgrano began to make more headway with their counter-attacking game, their striker Cesár Pereyra took advantage of a gaping hole in the River defence but fluffed his chance chipping the ball over River goalkeeper Juan Pablo Carrizo but wide of the goal. River didn't heed the warning and conceded the equaliser after another catastrophic bit of defending, which resulted in the ball breaking to the completely unmarked Belgrano midfielder Guillermo Farré who volleyed the ball home to restore their two goal advantage.
Minutes later the referee awarded River a lifeline with a very soft penalty call but Pavone chose power instead of accuracy allowing Belgrano goalkeeper Juan Olave to make an easy save. From that point onwards River looked drained of confidence and seemed to be drifting towards relegation until some of their fans began rioting with a few minutes remaining leaving referee Sergio Pezotta no choice but to abandon the game to seal River's relegation.
The riots
River Plate refused to go down with dignity, several players including goalkeeper Juan Pablo Carrizo began crying like children on the pitch, having to be consoled against a background of rioting home fans and deliriously celebrating visitors from Córdoba. The riots soon spread into the streets around the stadium with several hundred disgruntled supporters attacking their own stadium, the police, parked vehicles and local shops. Several dozen people were seriously injured in the riots including one police officer that had to be airlifted to hospital. Many River Plate followers had to return to the stadium in order to avoid the violence while the Belgrano supporters found themselves locked into El Monumental in freezing conditions for their own safety. After several hours the trouble died down and the Belgrano players were allowed out onto the pitch to celebrate with their fans.
Given AFA's often lax attitude towards violence in football and River Plate's complete unfamiliarity with relegation, the post match riots were hardly a surprise however a few things should be considered. In footballing terms getting the game abandoned in the dying minutes was idiotic, especially given what 9 man Gimnasia managed to achieve in the dying minutes of their relegation playoff against Atlético Rafaela two years ago. The violent reaction could also have serious implications for next season's promotion campaign, when Nueva Chicago fans rioted after their playoff defeat to Tigre in 2006-07 they were hit with a massive 18 point deduction for the next season, resulting in a further relegation into the regional divisions where they remain to this day. It is unlikely that River will suffer any points deductions as AFA have never been even handed when handing out punishments when the big clubs are involved. We only need to look at AFA's non-response to the 20 minute River Plate pitch invasion in the play-off first leg, when several smaller Primera División teams have been forced to play subsequent home games without supporters as punishment for similar incidents earlier in the season.
The relegation system
Several commentators have come out with the trite and predictable judgement that this is the worst River Plate team ever, however they quite clearly are not. Over the course of the 2010-11 season they finished with 57 points, the 6th highest points tally in the league which would have qualified them to play in Copa Sudamericana had they not been involved in the relegation play-offs. The reason they got relegated despite this reasonably decent season is that Argentine uses the "promedios" (points averaging) system meaning that a team's relegation status is determined by working out their points per game average over the last three seasons.
The root cause of their relegation was their dismal form in the two previous seasons where they only accumulated 41 and 43 points dragging their points average down to 1.238 points per game. To put this in perspective they are only the 3rd team ever to be relegated from the Primera División with an average of more than 1.2 points per game and only just shy of the Lanús' record 1.245 points average that saw them relegated in 2001-02.
The much criticised Argentine relegation system has led to the relegation of a team that avoided finishing in the bottom five in any of the past three seasons, however the system was put in place to allow the time needed to recover for successful teams that have inevitably been stripped of their best players by European clubs. River Plate were undoubtedly victims of the system but they had three years and plenty of resources to take action to overcome it, so only have themselves to blame.
The blame
Every River Plate fan has their own ideas of where to point the finger of blame, including the club's president, players and former and current managers, here are some of the most common complaints.
Daniel Passarella (former manager & president): Argentina's 1978 World Cup winning captain and former River Plate manager became the first River president ever to preside over a relegation. Passarella was a legendary player for the club and led the team to a number of titles during his first stint as manager between 1990 & 1994. His second spell was far less successful and ended after the club were embarrassingly eliminated in the Copa Sudamericana 2007 semi-finals by Argentine minnows Arsenal de Sarandí. He came back as the club's president in 2009 but oversaw a couple of strategically unintelligible managerial appointments from Angel Cappa who favoured a swaggering attacking style of play to the uber-defensive style of his replacement J.J. López. After the relegation Passarella stated that the only way he would be removed from River Plate would be feet first, i.e. dead.
José María Aguilar (former president): When passarella took over in 2009 he was quick to point out the huge debts accumulated under his predecessor. Between 2001 and 2009 Aguilar had overseen the sale of many highly talented players (D'Allesandro, Cavenaghi, Mascherano, Higuaín, Falcao) and their replacement with loanees and players wholly or largely owned by third party companies and agents. It is rumoured that huge chunks of these transfer fees are unaccounted for and that the club are still around £30 million in debt.
Diego Simeone (former manager): Is the last manager to lead River to a championship title in Clausura 2008 but was largely responsible for the embarrassment of the club's first and only bottom of the table finish in Apertura 2008 and since then threats have been made against him and his family including his son who plays in the River Plate academy.
Angel Cappa (former manager): Cappa's critics have been quick to point out that the three sides he has managed since 2008; Huracán, River Plate and Gimnasia y Esgrima have all found themselves in the relegation places at the end of Clausura 2011, however in retrospect his stint in charge of River didn't seem all that bad compared to the defensive and goal-shy set-up of his successor JJ López.
JJ López (manager): After replacing Cappa, López instilled plenty of defensive discipline in the River Plate side but at the expense of goals. His style of play was criticised by many as unfitting for such a great club and derided by his critics as a 7-0-3 formation. The club's lack of goals and long winless streak at the end of Clausura resulted in River nosediving into the relegation places when a couple of extra goals in any two of their last 8 games could have prevented them free-falling into trouble.
The players: Many River Plate fans were extremely disappointed by the perceived lack of effort from the players, things came to a head during the first leg of the playoff in Córdoba when a number of River Plate supporters invaded the pitch to berrate their own players after they went 2-0 down. The younger attacking players can perhaps be excused because of their inexperience and the difficulty they found adapting to the rigid defensive style of manager JJ López, more experienced players such as goalkeeper Juan Pablo Carrizo have no excuses for the blunders that cost the team so many points.
Julio Grondona (AFA president): After River president Passarella publicly criticised AFA President Julio Grondona towards the end of the Clausura season, Diego Maradona praised his arch-rival for " having the balls to say what we have all known for years" adding that "you can be certain that this outburst by Passarella will be paid for on the pitch by River". Most Argentine cynics believed that AFA would do anything to keep River in the top flight while some River Plate conspiracy theorists and Grondona critics choose to believe the exact opposite.
Los Borrachos del Tablón: It has been claimed that the River Plate barras (ultras) have far too much control over the club from determining which players are bought and sold (and taking a slice of the transfer fees), intimidating players and coaching staff and generally creating a poisonous atmosphere around the club.
Karma: Some people have claimed that the relegation is the result of "bad karma", if this is the case a lot of it must have come from the disgraceful way they have treated legendary veteran midfielder Ariel Ortega. Not only have they failed to pay his wages for two years they have also denied him the kind of grand send-off that Boca Juniors afforded their own legendary veteran Martín Palermo by shipping him off to Buenos Aires minnows All Boys. It is not like they are unaware of his influence on the team, he was a key player in the Clausura 2008 championship winning side but after a fall out with manager Diego Simeone he was farmed out to 2nd division side Independiente Rivadavia. While he was away River went from champs to chumps finishing bottom of the table for the first time in their history. In Clausura 2011 they packed him off to All Boys and ended up getting relegated. It is not hard to see the parallels however it is down to opinion whether you think it is fate or just pure coincidence.
The prospects
The prospects for River Plate in Primera B Nacional do not look great. The club is lumbered with huge debts (estimated at £30million), facing a massive shortfall in revenue and look set to sell most of their most influential players. Diego Buonanotte has already gone, young talents Erik Lamela, Rogelio Funes Mori and Manuel Lanzini look set to be sold for far less than the club could have demanded in the January transfer window and a number of the club's established stars may also need to be sold.
River are one of a record six former Argentine champions to face playing the 2011-12 season in Primera B Nacional, the others being Rosario Central, Ferro Carril Oeste, Huracán, Quilmes and Chacarita Juniors. The presence of such a gigantic club in the second tier can only be good for Primera B Nacional however things could turn out to be really tough for River with most of the division's players seeing their games against River as once in a lifetime opportunities to give their absolute best for their side in order to be part of a historic win.
Many River Plate fans may be confident that their gigantic status should see them bounce straight back however they need to take a quick look at the plight of Rosario giants Rosario Central's failure to bounce back from relegation last season and the plight of one of the great sides of the 1980s, Ferro Carril Oeste who have been outside the Primera since 2000 and even endured a stint playing in the regionalised 3rd division.
At first my view was that under a new manager River Plate would almost certainly return to the Primera División at the first attempt, largely because Argentine football needs them playing in the top division. The Superclásico derby against Boca Juniors is an iconic fixture in world football and the biggest money-spinning event in Argentine sport. Argentine football will be much poorer next season for the lack of it's show piece fixtures and everything possible will be done to ensure that it returns for the 2012-13 season. However I forgot to factor in Daniel Passarella's penchant for making crazy managerial appointments.
River Plate moved quickly to appoint a new manager after the resignation of JJ López, however plucking Matías Almeyda out of the team and giving him the enormous responsibility for guiding the club back into the top flight looks like a massive gamble given his complete lack of managerial experience. At a time the club should have been looking for an experienced manager to steady the ship and rebuild the team for the forthcoming promotion campaign they have gone for a complete rookie instead.
Relegation Playoffs Argentina 2010-11
Overview
Due to the complexities of the Argentine relegation system a number of playoffs were needed to determine which of the teams finishing between 17th and 19th in the 2010-11 relegation table would suffer relegation.
The first game was between Gimnasia y Esgrima de La Plata and Huracán who finished on identical points averages either side of the automatic relegation line. The losers would be automatically relegated while the winners would face a two legged playoff against San Martín de San Juan who finished 3rd in Primera B Nacional.
The other two legged playoff would feature never previously relegated River Plate who finished 17th in the relegation table against Belgrano de Córdoba who finished 4th in B Nacional.
Results
Disempate
| 22-06-11 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Gimnasia y Esgrima (LP) | 2-0 | Huracán |
| Winner: Gimnasia y Esgrima (LP) | ||
The disempate was played at Boca Juniors Bombonera stadium and as expected Huracán continued their dismal run of form with a 2-0 defeat meaning that they suffered automatic relegation while Gimnasia found themselves facing their 3rd relegation playoff in three seasons. In 2009 and 2010 they survived epic encounters with Atlético Rafaela, who ascended to the Primera as champions of Primera B Nacional in 2011.
Promoción
| 22-06-11 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Belgrano de Córdoba | 2-0 | River Plate |
| 26-06-11 | ||
| River Plate | 1-1 | Belgrano de Córdoba |
| Winner: Belgrano de Córdoba (River Plate relegated) | ||
Belgrano left River Plate on the brink of their first ever relegation with a 2-0 home win in the first leg meaning that River would need a two goal margain of victory in the return leg in order to remain in the Primera Division. Cesar Mansanelli put the hosts ahead with a first half penalty and Cesar Pereyra put them a step closer to the Primera División with a goal early in the second half prompting a pitch invasion from the River Plate fans who berrated their own players. Belgrano held on for the two goal win and had AFA handed out a similar punishment to those they had to other teams for pitch invasions and violence from fans this season, River could have ended up playing the return leg behind closed doors. Predictably the Argentine football autorities decided to ignore the pitch invasion and allow the River Plate fans to support their team in the most important league match in their history.
River needed to win the second leg by two clear goals in order to stay in the Primera División and they got off to the perfect start with a goal from Mariano Pavone after only five minutes. Belgrano got the ball into River's net in the first half however it was correctly disallowed for offside. River were the more composed side for the remainder of the first half and created the better goalscoring chances however they couldn't find the vital second goal before half time.
In the second half Belgrano striker Cesár Pereyra misser a one-on-one with River goalkeeper Juan Pablo Carrizo but some shambolic defending from the home team gifted an equaliser to Guillermo Farré. Mariano Pavone had a chance to pull one back from the penalty spot but he chose power instead of accuracy and his shot was easily saved by Belgrano goalkeeper Juan Olave. River never really got close to finding the two goals they needed and with a few minutes to go referee Sergio Pezzota was forced to abandon the game due to rioting amongst the River Plate fans. It seems that the rioting fans were completely unaware of what happened in Gimnasia's playoff two years ago when they were playing 9 vs 11 and found the two goals they needed to survive in the dying minutes.
After the referee abandoned the match a large number of River Plate hooligans set about attacking the police and destroying their own stadium, while innocent River Plate fans and Belgrano supporters found themselves trapped inside the stadium waiting for the situation to calm down.
| 26-06-11 | ||
|---|---|---|
| San Martín (SJ) | 1-0 | Gimnasia y Esgrima (LP) |
| 30-06-11 | ||
| Gimnasia y Esgrima (LP) | 1-1 | San Martín (SJ) |
| Winner: San Martín SJ (Gimnasia relegated) | ||
San Martín won the first leg 1-0 with after Oliver Paz Benítez deflected a shot from San Martín's Brazilian striker Roberval into his own net. Considering Gimnasia's amazing escape against Atlético Rafaela two years ago few San Martín players could have been fully confident that a one goal advantage would be enough however Sebastian Penco calmed their nerves with a goal in the early minutes of the second leg to open up a two goal advantage. Things got worse for the home side midway through the second half when Milton Casco got himself sent off but José Vizcarra gave them a lifeline with a goal one minute later. Sebastián Penco was sent off with around a quarter of an hour remaining setting up a tense finale however San Martín held on for a famous aggregate win to return to the Primera División for the first time since 2008.
This result meant that the Primera División lost 4 teams from Buenos Aires and Buenos Aires Province and all of their replacements came from the interior, welcome diversification of the Argentine top flight. On the down side it meant that the Primera lost three of it's big derby games (Superclásico, San Lorenzo/Hurcán and Clásico Platense) and will only feature two big derby games next year (Clásico Avellaneda & Clásico Santafesino).
After the final whistle there were a few tears amongst the Gimnasia players and fans however they generally conducted themselves with dignity and scenes like the rampage after River's relegation at the weekend were avoided. There were two main factors in this, Gimnasia have been flirting with relegation for three years and in their hearts most Gimnasia fans must recognise that their team simply hasn't been good enough to deserve to survive a 3rd consecutive relegation playoff and the other factor is that they all witnessed what happened at River at the weekend and what a shitstorm of criticism it provoked and wished to avoid dragging the image of their club through the mud too.
Santos vs Peñarol fight after the 2011 Copa Libertadores final
On 22 June 2011 Brazilian side Santos won their first Copa Libertadores title since they won the tournament back-to-back in 1962 and 1963 with a 2-1 win against Peñarol of Uruguay in the second leg of the 2011 final. The Santos team should have been celebrating wildly at the final whistle but instead their players, coaching staff and a number of pitch invading fans got involved in a mass brawl with the Peñarol players.
For more crazy South American football check out the rest of the Cosas locas series.
Gustavo Toledo golazo contra San Lorenzo
Banfield and San Lorenzo had little but pride to play for when they faced each other during the final round of games in the Clausura 2011 tournament. San Lorenzo needed to win to cut their sequence of six games without a victory but Gonzalo Toledo put Banfield ahead with this magnificent strike. San Lorenzo managed to scramble an equaliser for a 1-1 draw but they still finished the season in terrible form and finished bottom amongst the so called "big five".
Brasileirão Série A 2011 - round 5
Match reports
leaders São Paulo kept up their 100% record with a 0-2 away win against Ceará while 2nd placed Corinthians had their fixture postponed due to their opponent's Santos commitments in the Copa Libertadores final.
Avaí remained in big trouble at the bottom of the table after a 5-0 demolition at Palmeiras, 2010 champions Fluminense continued their terrible start to the defence of their title with a 0-1 home defeat to Bahia and 2010 runners-up Cruzeiro stayed in the relegation zone after they could only draw 1-1 at América.
Avaí remained in big trouble at the bottom of the table after a 5-0 demolition at Palmeiras, 2010 champions Fluminense continued their terrible start to the defence of their title with a 0-1 home defeat to Bahia and 2010 runners-up Cruzeiro stayed in the relegation zone after they could only draw 1-1 at América.
Results/Highlights
| 18-06-11 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fluminense | 0-1 | Bahia |
| América | 1-1 | Cruzeiro |
| 19-06-11 | ||
| Figueirense | 2-0 | Atlético Paranaense |
| Ceará | 0-2 | São Paulo |
| Grêmio | 1-1 | Vasco da Gama |
| Flamengo | 0-0 | Botofogo |
| Palmeiras | 5-0 | Avaí |
| Atlético Mineiro | 2-2 | Atlético Goianense |
| Coritiba | 1-1 | Internacional |
| 10-08-11 | ||
| Santos | ?-? | Corinthians |
Positions
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | São Paulo | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | +8 | 15 | |
| 2 | Palmeiras | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 3 | +7 | 11 | |
| 3 | Corinthians | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 10 | |
| 4 | Figueirense | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 10 | |
| 5 | Atlético Mineiro | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 8 | |
| 6 | Botafogo | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 8 | |
| 7 | Vasco da Gama | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 8 | +1 | 8 | |
| 8 | Flamengo | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 7 | |
| 9 | Atlético Goianiense | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 7 | |
| 10 | Grêmio | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 7 | |
| 11 | Internacional | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 6 | |
| 12 | Fluminense | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 6 | |
| 13 | Santos | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 5 | |
| 14 | Bahia | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 8 | −2 | 5 | |
| 15 | América Mineiro | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 11 | −4 | 5 | |
| 16 | Coritiba | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 4 | |
| 17 | Ceará | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 11 | −6 | 4 | |
| 18 | Cruzeiro | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 3 | |
| 19 | Atlético Paranaense | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 8 | −7 | 1 | |
| 20 | Avaí | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 17 | −13 | 1 |
For more South American football highlights, including the Argentine league, the pick of the rest and international tournaments:
Leonel Núñez golazo contra Huracán, Clausura 2011
On 18 June 2011 Huracán faced a tough looking trip to Avellaneda to play Independiente knowing that a win would allow them to avoid automatic relegation. The game did not go well for the visitors who had their goalkeeper sent off, missed a penalty and found themselves 4-1 down going into the last minute when Leonel Núñez scored this cracking individual goal to add a fifth for Independiente. As the final whistle went the Huracán fans were in mourning as their relegation rivals were winning 2-1 against Boca Juniors and about to leapfrog Huracán out of the automatic relegation zone however Cristian Cellay scored a late equaliser for Boca to set up a playoff between Huracán and Gimnasia to determine which of them ends up automatically relegated and which will face Union de Santa Fe in the promotion/relgation playoff.
Fecha 19 Clausura 2011 Argentina
Details of the 19th round of games in the Clausura 2011 tournament.
All of the video highlights are available by scrolling down to the Results section and clicking on the red scores.
Preview
Match reports
On Saturday afternoon the five games involving teams in the relegation fight kicked off simultaneously.
Quilmes had worked miracles to keep their survival hopes alive until the final game of the season but they were relegated after a 0-1 home defeat to Olimpo. Martín Rolle scored the only goal of the game to secure Primera División survival for the Bahía Blanca outfit.
River Plate replaced Olimpo in the final relegation playoff position after a 1-2 home defeat to Lanús who finished the Clausura in second place. Sebastián Romero put the visitors ahead but Erik Lamela equalised for the hosts after three minutes of the second half to give them hope. River Pressed for the winning goal but Leandro Diaz hit an injury time winner for Lanús to leave never previously relegated River facing a two legged promotion playoff against Belgrano de Córdoba to determine which of them will play Primera División football.The fact that River are involved in the relegation playoffs means that they will be disallowed from competing in Copa Sudamerica despite finishing 6th in the overall table.
Given River's defeat, Tigre were safe anyway but they still managed a creditable 1-1 draw at Argentinos Juniors. Nicolás Blandi scored for Argentinos midway through the first half and Román Martínez equalised for Tigre nine minutes later. The draw meant that Argentinos slipped down the table a bit but still finished in 5th position in the Clausura and in 7th position in the Copa Sudamericana qualification table meaning that they will take River Plate's place in Copa Sudamericana 2011.
Huracán started the day above the automatic relegation places by a single point and they seemed set for automatic relegaton as Independiente thrashed them 5-1 and Gimnasia y Esgrima seemed to be heading for a win against Boca Juniors however Boca found a late equaliser to set up a head-to-head decider between Huracán and Gimnasia to determine which of them will face automatic relegation and which of them will face the 3rd placed team from Primera B Nacional, San Martín de San Juan in the promotion/relegation playoff.
Gimnasia seemed to be cruising to victory against Boca after Claudio Graff scored with a free kick and Guillermo Barros Schelotto scored another from the penalty spot after 12 minutes. Cristián Cellay pulled one back for Boca before half time but Gimnasia looked the most likely to score for most of the second half until Boca equalised in the last minute. In his last ever league appearance for Boca, Martín Palermo headed back across goal to set up a second goal for Cellay.
Huracán's trip to Inependiente was nothing short of a disaster considering they knew that a win would allow them to avoid automatic relegation. Facundo Parra and Andrés Silvera put the hosts two goals ahead at half time then Patricio Rodríguez hit a pair of goals either side of the sending off of Huracán keeper Gastón Monzón and a missed penalty from Javier Cámpora. At the second opportunity from the penalty spot Cámpora pulled a goal back and put himself joint top of the topscorers table but there was still time for Leonel Núñez to add further humiliation with a sublime fifth goal for Independiente in the last few minutes.
In the late game on Saturday Nicolás Sánchez headed the only goal of the game to give Godoy Cruz a 1-0 win against All Boys to secure 3rd place in the Clausura, their joint best finish in their short Primera División history.
In the early kick-off on Sunday Estudiantes continued their dismal run of form with a 1-0 away defeat to Arsenal de Sarandí. The champions of the Apertura have won only one of their last 16 games and that was the rearranged tie against bottom of the table Huracán. Despite spending the majority of the season in the bottom half of the table Arsenal picked up 11 points from their final five games to climb up to 10th in the final standings, qualify to play in Copa Sudamericana 2011 and dramatically improve their prospects in next seasons relegation table.
Newell's Old Boys picked up only their 4th victory of the Clausura with a 1-0 home win against Colón meaning that they managed to leapfrog Huracán and avoid the embarrasment of a bottom of the table finish. They left it late to secure the win but Mauricio Sperdutti bagged the winner in the 88th minute to demonstrate that he is of the few Newell's players that can take some pride in their Clausura 2011 campaign.
Banfield and San Lorenzo were the only two teams left with absolutely nothing to play for, their game ended in a 1-1 draw. Banfield have played some half decent football in the Clausura and Gustavo Toledo gave them the lead with a spectacular long range strike but San Lorenzo managed to scramble an equaliser to avoid finishing a disappointing campaign with a defeat.
Vélez Sársfield enjoyed their coronation as champions with a 2-1 win againsr Racing Club a result that secured a comfortable 4 point margain in the Clausura and an incredible 13 point advantage over the whole of the 2010-11 season. Nobody could deny that Vélez deserved their championship but Racing attempted to spoil the party taking the lead with a Gabriel Hauche goal in the early stages of the game. Vélez fought back and had established the 2-1 lead that lasted for the rest of the game after 19 minutes with goals from Víctor Zapata and Augusto Fernández.
Results
| 18-06-11 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Argentinos Juniors | 1-1 | Tigre |
| Gimnasia y Esgrima (LP) | 2-2 | Boca Juniors |
| Independiente | 5-1 | Huracán |
Quilmes | 0-1 | Olimpo |
| River Plate | 1-2 | Lanús |
| Godoy Cruz | 1-0 | All Boys |
| 19-06-11 | ||
| Arsenal | 1-0 | Estudiantes |
| Newell's Old Boys | 1-0 | Colón |
| Banfield | 1-1 | San Lorenzo |
| Vélez Sársfield | 2-1 | Racing Club |
Positions
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vélez Sársfield | 19 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 36 | 17 | +19 | 39 | |
| 2 | Lanús | 19 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 28 | 15 | +13 | 35 | |
| 3 | Godoy Cruz | 19 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 33 | 28 | +5 | 34 | |
| 4 | Olimpo | 19 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 28 | 23 | +5 | 30 | |
| 5 | Argentinos Juniors | 19 | 7 | 9 | 3 | 16 | 11 | +5 | 30 | |
| 6 | Independiente | 19 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 30 | 20 | +10 | 29 | |
| 7 | Boca Juniors | 19 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 24 | 22 | +2 | 28 | |
| 8 | Banfield | 19 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 24 | 24 | 0 | 27 | |
| 9 | River Plate | 19 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 26 | |
| 10 | Arsenal | 19 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 25 | 22 | +3 | 25 | |
| 11 | Tigre | 19 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 25 | 26 | −1 | 25 | |
| 12 | All Boys | 19 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 14 | 19 | −5 | 25 | |
| 13 | San Lorenzo | 19 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 19 | 17 | +2 | 23 | |
| 14 | Estudiantes | 19 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 18 | 19 | −1 | 24 | |
| 15 | Racing | 19 | 7 | 2 | 10 | 25 | 26 | −1 | 23 | |
| 16 | Colón | 19 | 6 | 3 | 10 | 20 | 27 | −7 | 21 | |
| 17 | Quilmes | 19 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 24 | 27 | −3 | 20 | |
| 18 | Gimnasia (La Plata) | 19 | 3 | 9 | 7 | 19 | 25 | −6 | 18 | |
| 19 | Newell's Old Boys | 19 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 16 | 32 | −16 | 16 | |
| 20 | Huracán | 19 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 18 | 42 | −24 | 14 |
Show de goles
For more South American football highlights, including the Brazilian league, the pick of the rest and international tournaments:
Fecha 19 Clausura 2011 - Preview and predictions
Preview and predictions for the 19th round of games in the Clausura 2011 tournament.
Preview
Last week I correctly predicted 4 results but didn't get any exact scores. This week I am really pressed for time and the relegation situation is so complex to explain that for the final round of Clausura 2011 I'm going to have a bit of fun and just run with my gut instinct and what I would like to happen rather than doing all the usual meticulous research.
The first five games all involve teams battling to avoid relegation and kick off simultaneously on Saturday afternoon.
There are two seperate battles the most important is the fight to avoid automatic relegation and only one of three teams can avoid it by finishing in a relegation playoff position meaning that they will face a two legged tie against the 3rd placed team in Primera B Nacional (San Martín de San Juan).
Quilmes are bottom of the pile but having failed to win any of their first 9 games in the Clausura they have pulled off an extraordianry recovery to give themselves a chance of avoiding automatic relegation but they still need to beat Olimpo to have any chance of survival. Quilmes also rely on the other two teams failing to win their games. Gimnasia have a home tie against Boca Juniors, which will be the final game for legandary striker Martín Palermo, Gimnasia will survive if they win and the other two don't, they could also survive if they draw and the other two lose given their superior goal average to Huracán. Huracán face a trip to Avellaneda to face Independiente, if they win they will avoid automatic relegation whatever else happens. If they match or better the results of the others they will also survive however if they draw and Quilmes win they will finish on the same points average and face a playoff to determine which team finishes in the higher position.
There are three teams involved in the battle to avoid the last relegation playoff position which would mean a two legged tie against the 4th placed team in Primera B Nacional, Belgrano de Córdoba. As with the automatic relegation fight the three involved teams could finish level on points average. Olimpo need to beat Quilmes to have any chance of avoiding the playoff and if they do a win for River Plate against Lanús and a draw for Tigre at Argentinos Juniors would mean that the three teams all finish level on points average and a three way playoff to determine which team finishes where.
If Tigre win, equal or better the results of the other two they will certainly survive however if they lose and the other two win they will face the playoff. If River Plate better the result of Olimpo they will survive, if both River and Olimpo draw River will survive however if they both win it will go down to a playoff.
The last game on Saturday will provide the opportunity for Godoy Cruz to secure a top three finish with a win against All Boys. If they win and Lanús don't they could secure 2nd place their best ever finish in the Primera División.
On Sunday Arsenal and Estudiantes play in the early kick-off. There has not been a draw in this fixture since 2005 so I'm going to back the stalemate.
Newell's could avoid an embarassing bottom of the table finsh if they manage to better Huracán's result in their game against Colón.
Banfield have been inconsistent for the whole of the Clausura however this is clearly better than having been consistently bad like San Lorenzo. I'd be surprised if Banfield ddn't comfortably beat San Lorenzo in their last game of the season.
The last game of the championship will be the champoins Vélez against Racing. It should be an entertaining game Vélez will want to put on a good show in front of their supporters and if Racing bother to turn up and play football like they occasionally have in the Clausura it could be a cracking game.
Predictions
As the results come in I will fill in the actual scores and colour code the predicted scores, green for exact score, yellow for correct result and red for completely wrong. Each green score gets three points, each yellow score gets one point and red scores get nothing. If you fancy playing along fill out your predictions in the comments below to see if you can beat mine.
| 18-06-11 | Prediction | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Argentinos Juniors | 1-1 | Tigre | 1-0 |
| Gimnasia y Esgrima (LP) | 2-2 | Boca Juniors | 1-1 |
| Quilmes | 0-1 | Olimpo | 2-0 |
| River Plate | 1-2 | Lanús | 1-1 |
| Independiente | 5-1 | Huracán | 2-0 |
| Godoy Cruz | 1-0 | All Boys | 3-1 |
| 19-06-11 | |||
| Arsenal | 1-0 | Estudiantes | 0-0 |
| Newell's Old Boys | 1-0 | Colón | 1-1 |
| Banfield | 1-1 | San Lorenzo | 2-0 |
| Vélez Sársfield | 2-1 | Racing Club | 3-2 |
Score:4/10
2011 Copa Libertadores final
Overview
The Copa Libertadores final in 2011 featured two of the famous names from the early years of the competition. Brazilian side Santos won the Libertadores in 1962 and 1963 and Peñarol from Uruguay won the competition five times between 1960 and 1987 making them the third most successful side in the history of the competition despite the fact that 2011 is the first time they have even passed the quarter-final stage since they last won the competition 24 years previously.
Results
| 15-06-11 | ||
|---|---|---|
Peñarol  | 0-0 | Santos  |
| 22-06-11 | ||
| Santos | 2-1 | Peñarol |
| Winner: Santos | ||
After a 0-0 draw in the first leg the Copa Libertadores final went down to the final game at the Estádio do Pacaembu in São Paulo, making the Brazilian side strong favourites to win the title given the fact that Peñarol had not won any of their four previous games. Brazilian teenage sensation Neymar scored the first goal of the final two minutes into the second half and Danilo extended the lead in the 69th minute. Peñarol pulled a goal back with ten minutes left through a Dorival goal however they couldn't prevent the Santos from winning their third Copa Libertadores title and their first since they won the tournament back-to-back in 1962 & 1963. The celebrations were spoiled after a mass brawl where the Peñarol players faced up to the Santos players, coaching staff and a number of Santos fans who had invaded the pitch.
For more South American football highlights, including the Argentine & Brazilian leagues, the pick of the rest and other international tournaments:
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