SB Nation Argentine Primera Division
+2
Boca Juniors were not brilliant against Olimpo, but Juan Roman Riquelme had two flashes of brilliance. On Saturday, Estudiantes and Belgrano were held while San Martin grabbed a win.
Boca Juniors didn't look great in their first match of the new Argentine Primera season, but two moments of brilliance helped them to an easy win over relegation favorites Olimpo at La Bombanera. Elsewhere, Lanus looked very much like title contenders in a crushing victory over San Lorenzo.
Boca Juniors 2-0 Olimpo
Olimpo got off to an absolutely brilliant start in this match, creating a shot on target in the first 15 seconds. Unfortunately for them, that was the best that it would get. The Boca Juniors midfield looked poor in the early going while Juan Roman Riquelme struggled to impose himself on the game. That was, until he set up the opening goal. In the 40th minute, Roman hit a beautiful chip to Pablo Mouche, who headed down for Dario Cvitanich. Boca's leading scorer from the Apertura punched it in, giving his team the lead.
Boca weren't a whole lot better in the second half, but found another goal in similar fashion, through the brilliance of Riquelme. He played a fantastic through ball into the box for Mouche, who took a low shot that was saved by Matías Ibáñez. He gave up a rebound, though, and Mouche didn't miss his second chance.
Lanus 4-1 San Lorenzo
Lanus were slightly disappointing in their last tournament but look good for a title challenge on this performance. At the same time, San Lorenzo don't look like they'll be able to play themselves out of the relegation places. Their set piece defending, in particular, was abysmal. Diego Braghieri and Matias Fritzler both scored from set pieces in the first 15 minutes, and Mariano Pavone added a third in the 25th minute. The former River man would make it a brace in the 49th minute, sealing the win for his side.
Carlos Bueno scored for San Lorenzo on his debut, netting in the 58th minute, but his team never had a shot at mounting a comeback. They lost their cool late, and had both Nicolas Bianchi and Fernando Meza sent off near the end of the match.
During the Apertura, Boca Juniors went undefeated. Velez Sarsfield had a very solid team, Colon's defense was strong and Racing were led by Diego Simeone, but all three teams finished 12 points behind the blue and gold. This season, Boca are dealing with massive expectations, while none of their rivals have fallen off. They're involved in Copa Libertadores and Copa Argentina, and there's talk of a treble. Surely they can't go undefeated again, but they're favorites to come close.
Colon won't be as bad at home as they were last season, while Racing will score more goals. Velez looked great in their Copa Libertadores opener, while Estudiantes La Plata can't possibly finish near the bottom again. They have all of the stars from their Copa Libertadores triumph in 2009 (yes, including Juan Sebastian Veron), and they had a mid-table goal differential in the Apertura. Godoy Cruz will score in buckets again.
It will take a much stronger season for Boca to run away with the title again this season. Luckily for them, they start at home, against an average opponent, on a week where they didn't have to play in the Copa Libertadores.
Friday, 7:15 p.m. ET
Boca Juniors have a defense so good that they rely on the aging and temperamental Juan Roman Riquelme, as well as a random group of average strikers to score enough goals to guide them to victories. They've actually signed a fantastic striker in Santiago Silva, but can't use him until next season as he's already been registered for two teams this season. Dario Cvitanich scored five goals last campaign, but the team needs more from Pablo Mouche and talented youngster Nicolas Blandi.
Olimpo is at the bottom of the relegation table, and they're quite a way from safety. They'll do extremely well to get up to 18th from 20th to get into the relegation playoffs and out of the straight drop zone. Don't expect them to get off to a good start on Friday.
Prediction: Boca 2-0 Olimpo
Friday, 7:15 p.m. ET
San Lorenzo resemble last year's River Plate team quite a big, except you probably haven't heard about it if you're not a fan of Argentinian football, simply because they're not River Plate. They have huge fan support and a strong squad, but they're sitting in a relegation playoff spot. Their campaign starts with a stiff test against Lanus, an almost certain top-half side.
Lanus performed slightly below expectations last season, finishing in sixth place in 29 points. They strengthened their flanks in the offseason with the additions of wingbacks Gaston Diaz and Maximiliano Velazquez in the offseason, while also strengthening their attack with the signing of Santiago Salcido. Captain and central midfielder Diego Valeri is the engine of the team, and is one of the better players in the domestic league. Lanus is missing one key player, Italian legend Mauro Camoranesi, with an injury.
San Lorenzo's attack was abysmal in the Apertura, so the signing of Carlos Bueno from Mexican side Queretaro could be a massive one. Bueno has been one of the top performers in Mexico over the last couple of tournaments and will almost certainly boost his new team's attack. Their veteran midfield and defense has the talent to keep the team up, they just need to play better than they did in the last tournament.
While the visitors will be desperate for points, Lanus has the better squad and is better than their Apertura home record.
Prediction: Lanus 2-1 San Lorenzo
Saturday, 5:00 p.m. ET
Estudiantes and Newell's both finished well down the table in the Apertura, but both are expected to be much better in this half-season. Estudiantes simply under-performed and had a worse table position than their goal differential indicated they should have, while Newell's have a new manager.
Newell's still don't have the squad to compete with the big boys, but Gerardo Martino is expected to push the team up into a mid-table spot, which will keep them well clear of the relegation places. Martino successfully guided Paraguay to the 2010 World Cup and the final of the 2011 Copa America, and his teams were extremely well-disciplined.
Juan Sebastian Veron isn't entirely healthy, and without him Estudiantes struggle to break teams down. If Martino has done enough in pre-season to get his team to buy into his system, they could get off to a poor start with a scoreless home draw. Gaston Martinez, Mauro Boselli and the returning Enzo Perez should be able to squeak out one goal, though.
Prediction: Estudiantes 1-0 Newell's
Sunday, 5:00 p.m. ET
Do you like goals? You should probably watch this game. Velez, through some miracle, have retained the services of eventually European-bound Juan Manuel Martinez while adding a talented striker in Ivan Obolo. In their first game in the Libertadores, they defeated Defensor Sporting -- a team with a supposedly strong defense and good home record -- 3-0 in Uruguay.
Meanwhile, Godoy Cruz scored 28 goals in the Apertura, making them the top scorers in the country. Ruben Ramirez was far and away the division's top scorer with 12 goals, and while he's unlikely to match that number, he will still score a number of goals this year. Ariel Rojas, Diego Villar and Alvaro Navarro will aid Ramirez in a potent attack. Their defense is shoddy, but who needs defense?
Goals. Goals everywhere.
Prediction: Velez 3-2 Godoy Cruz
Other matches
Belgrano de Cordoba vs. All Boys - Saturday, 5:00 p.m. ET
San Martin de San Juan vs. Indepediente - Saturday, 7:15 p.m. ET
Argentinos Juniors vs. Union de Santa Fe - Sunday, 3:00 p.m. ET
Atletico Rafaela vs. Banfield - Sunday, 3:00 p.m. ET
Racing Club vs. Tigre - Sunday, 5:00 p.m. ET
Colon de Santa Fe vs. Arsenal di Sarandi - Monday, 8:00 p.m. ET
Argentine Primera Week 1, Saturday Scores: Newell's Draw Estudiantes, San Martin Beat Independiente
Estudiantes got their potential title push off to a less than optimal start on Saturday evening, as they gave up a 1-0 lead and dropped points. They will presumably look better when they're able to play Enzo Perez, who was not registered in time for their first match, but they won't be thrilled to start with a home draw. Elsewhere, All Boys grabbed a decent road point and San Martin got off to a good start.
Estudiantes La Plata 1-1 Newell's Old Boys
Newell's and Estudiantes both struggled last tournament and played below their talent level, Estudiantes much more so. To fix their woes, Newell's hired former Paraguay manager Gerardo Martino in the offseason, and he started the season with a result reminiscent of his time with Paraguay. Estudiantes looked the slightly better side, but Newell's defended well and gritted out a draw. Mauro Boselli scored from the spot for Estudiantes in the first half and Maximiliano Urruti scored the Newell's equalizer.
Belgrano de Cordoba 0-0 All Boys
All Boys will eventually need wins to play themselves out of the relegation playoff places, but they'll be happy with a road point against Belgrano. The home side was slightly better and created a higher volume of chances, but the game didn't have much in the way of clear-cut chances and a 0-0 draw was a fair result.
San Martin de San Juan 1-0 Independiente
Two mid-table teams from the last tournament and likely mid-table teams from this tournament played to a fairly predictable result, with the home side grabbing a one-goal win in a tight match. Gastón Caprari scored the game's only goal, assisted by Federico Poggi. In stoppage time, Independiente's Matias De Federico picked up a second yellow card and was sent off.
Feb 12 9:53a by Kevin McCauley - 0 comments