Fernandez has finally signed with Benfica and will be presented to the media tomorrow morning; the deal is through 2015, and Benfica attached a 20M Euro release clause to the player. The total of the transfer from Benfica to Racing was 1.5M Euros. Best of luck to him!
Solid 4-1 victory for Porto after suffering our first loss of the season last weekend in a Cup affair. Today, 3 Argentines took the pitch; Otamendi started at CB, Belluschi in MF, and Mariano Gonzalez made his first appearance of the season after 9 months on the sidelines. --Otamendi (Velez Sarsfield) played fine at CB before shifting over to RB for the last 15 minutes when our starting RB, Sapunaru, got injured. A pretty decent game from Ota, with some good challenges and interceptions. I continue to be impressed with his play and excited for his future at the club. --Belluschi (Newell's Old Boys & River Plate) had a fine match, really controlling the tempo with Joao Moutinho in the center of the park. He's having an excellent 2nd season at Porto, and has mentioned that he'd like to earn another call-up to the Argentina NT. I sure like the player. --And Mariano Gonzalez (Racing) made his first appearance of the season, coming on for Belluschi to a standing ovation from the Porto crowd. He's been mediocre at the club during his time here, but is one of the team captains and a real mentor to the young South Americans like Otamendi. I'm pleased to have him around, as long as he doesn't play over guys like James Rodriguez.
Chacal my friend, first, thanks a lot for the news, second, Nico is a first teamer or he's below Maicon in the Rotation?
Started out behind Maicon, but has worked his way ahead of the Brazilian in the rotation. He's now pretty much a guaranteed starter for Porto at CB, and has looked very impressive and promising. Still a bit rash with his challenges at times, and his positioning will need some improvement; but the athleticism, anticipation and pace is all there, and he is also very good at attacking corners despite his relatively modest height. By the way, both of our RB's--Sapunaru and Fucile--are injured at the moment, so Otamendi might play RB on Wednesday in a cup match for us.
Sounds like the deal for Iturbe is almost wrapped up, 2M Euros is the rumor. The manager at Quilmes described Iturbe as a left-footed player with good pace, excellent ball control and dribbling skills, and an accurate, powerful shot. He also had high praise for the player's work ethic in training, even though he apparently wasn't eligible to play in the Argentine league. Really excited about this signing! http://www.ojogo.pt/artigos/27-21/priT.jpg
Another win for Benfica last night, and Gaitan and Jara scored goals. Aimar and Saviola also played and looked good. Most impressive is the play of Eduardo Salvio, who has been fantastic over the last month on the right side of Benfica's midfield. He's owned by Atletico Madrid, and the latest news is that they will take him back for next season, though Benfica would obviously love to keep him. Anyways, this guy is really emerging as a big time talent, and I'm sure he's on the radar of the Argentina NT administration.
Many thanks Chacal as always for keeping us all posted. Sometimes I do feel European clubs do skin Argentine clubs for transfer fees. In the long run 2M euros for Iturbe for example might turn out to be chicken feed. Salvio like di Maria has taken time to adjust but his talent is undeniable. About Otamendi is he still rash in challenging for the ball ie too often trying to second guess the opposition forwards and not staying on his feet ?
^ Otamendi is still rash in his challenges, but improves with every match and possesses tremendous raw potential. The club at Porto really values the player, and judging from his callup to the Argentina senior squad for the friendly on 9 February vs Portugal in Geneva, Switzerland, it appears that the NT does too. --Also, the father of Iturbe visited Porto during the weekend and was thrilled with the prospect of his son joining our club. He said the Portuguese media treated his son's arrival like "that of a star," and also claimed he can't wait to pass this message along to his boy.
Thanks for all the news Chacal. A quick question. I see your team has the likes of James, Varela, Hulk, Cebolla and Mariano, 5 fellas for the two wing spots. So what's is there for Iturbe? Are they planning to loan him for a season or two, or rather sell one of the above-mentioned wingers?
Yeah Hulk will almost certainly be sold this summer, Mariano's contract expires at the end of the season (we're not planning on renewing), and Cebolla is also out of favor and should be sold this summer. So on paper, the only guys ahead of Iturbe would be James Rodriguez and Varela, which is why Iturbe should be able to compete for playing time right away.
Goals tonight from Gaitan and Jara, as Benfica won 2-0 to continue their excellent run of form in league. Aimar, Salvio, Gaitan and Saviola all started the match, with Jara coming off the bench to score Benfica's 2nd goal. I guess we can call them "Team Argentina," haha. For Porto, Otamendi started at CB tonight in our 1-0 league victory over Rio Ave, and was very ordinary in all honesty. Our manager is starting to become a little sick of his rashness and positional errors, but fortunately for Ota our other LCB, Maicon, has been in even worse form, so hopefully Ota will work it out. Fernando Belluschi was suspended for yellow card accumulation, but remains a regular started along Moutinho in our MF. And Iturbe, the young 17 yr old we signed recently, continues to speak positively about Porto in the Portuguese press, so I look forward to seeing him soon! Take care, guys.
Thanks for the post Chacal. Keep on posting. By the way, I was hearing lots of good things about Otamendi by Porto supporters earlier last month. Is his form regressing now?
No problem, I'll keep posting updates on their progress every couple weeks, but please don't feel any pressure to respond, by the way. It may have actually been me who came on here and gave positive updates about Otamendi, but he has regressed a bit over the last month. The basic problems are that he is too aggressive/rash in his challenges, and he still makes some positional errors that need to be corrected. The good news is that he is still starting for us and has a lot of potential. But there is no question that he'll need to keep working hard to guarantee a starting spot on Porto for next year, and to break into the starting XI for Argentina.
Otamendi--yes, him!--with both goals tonight in a big 2-0 away league victory over our northern rivals, Braga. The first one was pretty astonishing, as he curled it into the top right-hand corner like a CF, and also calmly converted the 2nd goal after a deflected free-kick fell his way. Very nice moment for him, and I'll post highlights later when they are available. Belluschi also had a good match in MF, returning from a 1-match suspension. We next play on Thursday vs Sevilla in the Europa League, and I'd expect both Argentines to feature in our starting XI.
So Porto won the league title last night at Benfica, and Belluschi, Otamendi and Mariano Gonzalez are all Champions. Otamendi actually got sent off last night, though the referee was wrong to card him both times. He's been very solid this season, and has tons of potential going forward. Belluschi actually hasn't been starting regularly lately, despite his Argentina call-up; Colombian Freddy Guarin can't stop scoring and is in stunning form. And Mariano will be leaving Porto this summer and re-joining Racing, though his presence has been invaluable for the young, South-American Spanish speakers in the squad. Porto still have 5 league games left this season, so we're all expecting Mariano to play in a few of those games and receive a huge ovation as he prepares to head back home. For Benfica, Eduardo Salvio and Gaitan turned out to be key players for the club, despite inconsistent starts to their careers in Portugal. Gaitan primarily played LW, though he could move to attacking midfield next year in their 4-4-2 diamond formation. Salvio was on the right side of their MF, and impressed with excellent displays all season long; Benfica have the option to buy him permanently for the steep fee of 15M Euros from Atletico Madrid, proving that the Spanish club value him and won't sell cheaply. Pablo Aimar and Javier Saviola both played reasonably well this year, despite various injuries--I wouldn't be shocked to see either player leave the club this summer to return to Argentina, but we'll see. Franco Jara could be a starter next season, as he has plenty of potential as a striker and has scored a bunch of goals lately. And Jose Luiz Fernandez failed to break into the lineup, though he could start at LW next year, with Gaitin moving to the tip of their diamond.
You're forgetting Falcao who won the penalty converted by Hulk. Falcao is practically Argentina having lived there from the age of 12 until 23. James Rodriguez also has his roots in Argentina. Both were champions in Argentina with River and Banfield respectively. As for Aimar, he is likely to come back, but it depends if we sell Lamela. Personally I'd rather have Lamela for another year than Aimar. Aimar is brittle and injury prone at this stage of his career
Haha, very true! I was just including official Argentina players, but you are absolutely right in concluding that Falcao, James and even Freddy Guarin (2 games at Boca! ) have roots in Argentina. Yeah he's still an effective player, but obviously one that is no longer in the prime of his career. It'll be interesting to see what he does. Benfica signed Bruno Cesar of Corinthians in Brazil, who could potentially replace Aimar; and they also have Nico Gaitan, who could move back to the attacking midfield role that he filled for Boca. Either way, Aimar and Saivola are both tremendous players, and it's been a privilege to watch them compete in our Portuguese league.
what a great Central Defender Otamendi is...Thank you guys of Argentina, for creating such good Players....Fc Porto and Argentinians do great ( Lucho Gonzales, Lizandro Lopez and even Mariano Gonzales did great here) And Radamel Falcao, he is Colombian, but made is carear in Argentina (River Plate) and now Iturbe is coming...we will make a Great Player of him...be sure of that...
LOL, when did that happen!? PS: I like Mariano a lot and respect him, but he never played very well for Porto.
Thanks again Chacal for all your updates. One word to you though looking at the sides in the Europa League inc.Braga you ought to be a tad concerned at the lack of Portuguese players in them which will not be the best news for the Navigators.
Chacal, Mariano was and is a Great professional and a Player with alot of heart, thats why when ever he enters the pitch in Dragon Stadium, Porto Fans always give him tons of respect. He is very hard working player, not so much about talent. But Chacal you Know that at FC Porto, being hard working and to respect the Porto Shirt by running during the intire 90 minutes is half way there to Fans to like a player. Every time Mariano plays he always receive a great ovation and he is now one of the Team Captains, and that says alot of his value in the Team and for Porto fans. To be a Porto Captain its not for everyone...Any way good luck to us defeating Braga in the Europa League Final in Dublin...lolol
Kind of cool, tennis star Juan Martin Del Porto met with several Benfica players during his trip to Lisbon for a tournament.
Does anyone have info on Juan Neira???? Currently plays for Gimnasia y Esgrima de La Plata, he supposedly is leaving the club at the season, and rumor has it he's going to my club Sporting on a free transfer. What are his strenghts/weaknesses???? Thanks in advance
He's a decent player. Good at free kicks but i don't see him as much more... maybe he can come good for Sporting, but to be honest, hes playing for one of the worst teams in Argentina atm and its hard to judge him... Its tough to explain just how poorly run a club Gimnasia i... he has scored some impressive FK goals though [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPIBjUILrRo&feature=related"]YouTube - Gol de Neira.mpg[/ame]