World Soccer - UK (2022-07)

Impressive...

Racingmanager

FernandoGago

Veteran...Tigre

midfielderandcaptain

SebastianPrediger

WORLDSERVICE

Argentinosthenlosttheirsemi-final

onpenaltiestoTigre,who arenotoneof

theheavyweightsin Argentinefootball.

Theyreturnedtothe topflightjustthis

seasonaftertwoyearsinthesecond

tier. Yetunder theguidanceofDiego

Martinez,and with theveteranand

rookiemidfielderpartnershipof

SebastianPredigerand Ezequiel

Fernandez(onloanfromBoca),

theMatadorreachedthefinal.

Inthe quarter-finalsTigresawoff

River Plate at theMonumental. It was

inpartthankstoa costlymistakebythe

Millionaires’ChileaninternationalPaolo

Diazgiftingtheopportunityfor Tigre’s

winner.River must nowlookaheadto

lifewithoutJulianAlvarez.Thestriker is

duetojoinup with ManchesterCityin

thecomingweeks,havingsignedearlier

inthe year. “TheSpider” underlined

whatcoachMarceloGallardowillmiss

withasix-goalpersonalhaulinthefinal

gameofthe Libertadoresgroupstage

againstAlianzaLimaofPeru.

SowhileBocadidnotimpressin

theearlystage of thecompetition,they

heldtheirnerveandcamegoodatjust

therightmoment.“Maybethere were

otherteamswhoplayedbetterthan

ustactically,”saidBoca’sstriker Dario

“Pipa” Benedettoafterthewinover

Tigre,“butwewonthegameswe

neededtowin”.Thesiderarely

convincedinthiscampaignandfaced

pressure in theCopaLibertadoresafter

earlydefeatsin thegroupstage. Yet

Battaglia’ssidewontheirlast match

towinthegroup.YoungsterVarela,

whoscoredtheall-importantgoal

forthatwininthe Libertadores,was

oneofthehighpointsforthe club.

Yet Boca’svictory is overshadowed

byeventsoffthe pitch.Beforethe

semi-final,forwardSebastianVilla

wasaccusedofsexuallyassaultinga

womanin 20 21,whichhedenies.

Thecase - whichatthe timeof

writingisstill unfolding- stirredemotion

andopinion.The allegedvictim’s

testimony wasleakedtolocalmedia

whileVillacontinuedplaying.

Argentinaisthecountrywherea

powerfulmovementofstreet

mobilizationsdemandingjusticefor

victimsofdomesticviolencestarted

andthenspreadacrossLatinAmerica.

Outof the 26 first-divisionsides, 14

haveprotocolsintheeventofdomestic

violenceallegations.Bocaare oneof

those clubs.“Villashouldnothave

played thefinal,” saidformer Boca and

Argentinapresident MauricioMacri,

who,itshould be noted,hasbeenat

oddswith Riquelmesince

theearly 2 000s.

Thistournamentwas another

stopgapforArgentinefootball with

a convoluted structurethathadnever

beenusedbefore, andifrecenthistory

servesasa guide,willpossiblynot

berepeated.TheAFAcontinuesto

improviseand

conjureup unique

andeccentric

formatsto

accommodate

the 2 8 teams

intop flight.

Thenew league

seasonruns

untilOctober.

Relegations

• suspended
  sincethe onset
  ofthe pandemic


• areback.The
  winnerswill face
  BocaJuniorsin
  theChampions
  Cupin November.

Thecompetition
issplitintoa group
andknockout
phase,withfourteamsadvancing
fromthetwogroupsof 14.
InZone1,itwas FernandoGago’s
RacingClubthatcaughttheeye.Many
supportershaddoubted Gagowhen
hewas appointedafter a shortand
uneventful spellinchargeofAldosivi.
Buttheformersilky-skilledmidfielder
implanteda styleofplay in Avellaneda
thatwonplaudits and, more importantly,
wonpoints.Racingwereunbeatenin
theleaguezoneformat.Theyloston
penaltiesto Bocainthe semi-final
after a goallessdraw.
Thatdisappointmentwas
compoundedbyfailure to qualify
fortheknockoutphaseofthe Copa
Sudamericana.Among themany
positives,however, is theemergenceof
a maturingandimproving 19 -year-old
CarlosAlcaraz,themidfielderadding
goalstohisgameinthiscampaign.
InZone2 it wasEstudiantesde
laPlata whotookfirst placeaheadof
Boca,but,like Racing,theywouldalso
gooutonpenalties in theknockout
phase,thistimeagainst Argentinos
Juniorsinthequarter-finals.

Partytime...Boca’s

playerscelebrate

WORLDSOCCER 79

“Maybetherewereotherteamswhoplayed

betterthanustactically,butwewonthegames

weneededtowin”

BocaJuniorsstrikerDarioBenedetto