A new challenge for Riquelme

Despite suffering a slight injury, Riquelme will play.

If there has to be a player to keep an eye on in the Superclásico this next Sunday, that one is probably Juan Román Riquelme, the player most capable of enthralling football lovers with his way of playing and feeling the game.

Here comes... the Superclásico

After the 13th weekend of the Argentine Torneo Clausura, we are now facing the most important match our football can offer to the world: the Superclásico between Boca Juniors and River Plate. One of the events that every single person should be part of, at least, once in their lives.

It is widely known that those are the two most popular and succesful teams in their country, but they has not supported that condition in the recent years. River is already fighting not to lose its place in the Primera División and Boca is likely to face the same situation next season if they don't start getting as much points as they can.

Curiously, River appeared to be in a better place than its arch-rival. In fact, the league table was a tangible proof: the residents in Núñez were in the 2nd position and threatening the absolute leader, Vélez Sarsfield. But on last Sunday things changed: Boca played its best match and beat Argentinos Juniors at La Paternal with goals scored by the most emblematic players the team has: Martín Palermo and Juan Román Riquelme. River, meanwhile, lost to All Boys at El Monumental (0-2) and wasted a good oportunity to get closer to its rivals in the relegation table. At the same time, they might have become leaders if they had got a victory.

Similar problems, old history, a new Superclásico. The countdown has just started.

Ariel Ortega's future is uncertain, once again

Once again, River Plate's pre-season began with a kind of earthquake. Once again, it involves Ariel Ortega. An old story whose ending nobody knows.

What happened this time? River Plate got back to work, but Ortega didn't turn up as the rest of the squad. According to the doctor, the 36 years-old player suffered a breakdown after his trip to Disneyland because of some junk food he ate.

However, several club officers didn't believe this, and one of them even said, off the record, that he would've wanted to be at Ortega's home to see if he was really sick. Some of them are fed up with him and the problems associated with his addiction to alcohol.

The decision taken by the coach, Juan José López, was to tell Ortega that he wouldn't consider him part of the squad for the next Torneo Clausura. But what if this never would've happened? Is Ortega out of the team because of this? Would've López done the same if El Burrito had been the first player to appear for the training session on Monday? Some people who really know the backstage of the club say that the president Passarella was waiting for Ortega's first mistake to make the coach erase him from the list of available players. If that's true, where is the kindness they claimed to have when they talked about Ortega's situation?

Palermo said he would retire next year. Will he?

It's pretty usual to read about Martín Palermo and find the word 'film' somewhere in the text. As well as it happens watching TV or listening to the radio. But Palermo's life, however, is not 'as if it were made for a film'. Palermo's life is, in fact, a real fact.

This week, Boca Juniors' top scorer was twice in the centre of the scene. The first one -we're all used to it- because of his goals. He got to his 300rd after a perfect head-shot. Yes, exactly his best weapon. There were more, anyway. His victim was Gimnasia La Plata, Palermo's personal rival since ancient ages.

Some days after that, the striker turned up to say that he'll stop playing after the current season ends. Even when lots of people want him to keep doing it, including Juan Román Riquelme -Palermo's teammate but also an enemy out of the field- who claimed he'd try to convince Palermo not to retire. In spite of all this, Palermo assured that the decision is already made.

But (there's always a but with him) at the same time he said 'Well, if we won the next championship, we'd qualify for the Copa Sudamericana, and that would be a nice challenge'. So he finally left some hope in the environment for all those who love him. More than enough for them and their dreams of never seeing his idol saying goodbye.

A new way to learn and get information about sports in Argentina

After a long time working with one of my biggest passions and studying other, I decided to refund this blog. I've mixed my love for journalism and English. That's how Argentine Sports in English was born. But that's not the only reason.

Argentina is a lucky country if we think about its sportsmen (or women). Twice FIFA Footbal World Cup Champion, more than 30 boxing world champions, a Formula 1 World Champion, several Olympic Gold Medal winners, FIBA Basketball World Champion, golf Masters winners, tennis Grand Slam winners, and an even longer list of successful athletes in lots of disciplines.

Considering all that, it definitely is an important country when speaking about sports. But there's no place for those non-Spanish speakers who want to read or learn about it. Well, we should say there wasn't. Now they and everybody can find what they were looking for here. That's the main objective of this web site. Welcome to Argentine Sports in English.