BrianCappellieri
26 Jul 2002, 09:45 PM
Apertura Round 1: The Quest begins
Jeepers, trying to keep up with all of the changes in this league is a very huge task indeed. Starting with the recent resignation of Reinaldo Merlo of Racing on Wednesday evening, the teams are in constant flux. Many of these changes have to do with cash-strapped clubs trying to do more with less. Starting with River Plate selling Ariel Ortega for top dollar to Fenerbahce, Boca Juniors doing the same with Juan Roman Riquelme, and even Gimnasia La Plata striking a deal with Fulham and selling away their top striker Facundo Sava. Many teams are selling their stars in an effort to survive. Teams like Independente and San Lorenzo, which have dominated the Argentina liga in seasons past, are in deep financial crisis where they might not be able to recover from. Can those teams rebound? So the question that needs to be answered is which team or individual will step up and take advantage of the Power Vacuum.
Well two players that can fill the Power vacuum are Andres D'Alessandro and Fernando Cavenaghi. Cavenaghi was the leading scorer in the Clausura, but many believe that having Ortega up front helped him get to the top. Can Cavenaghi continue to produce? D'Alessandro will need to provide quality service to Cavenaghi and or River might be looking very desperate to score goals. Maybe Manual Pellegrini will insert Nelson Cuevas, the young striker that looked so spectacular in the World Cup for Paraguay. Cuevas struggled to find time under Ramon Diaz, but that might be changing now with Pellegrini in charge.
Can Colon finally step up with the big boys? The team from Santa Fe had so much praise for their strong finish in the 2001 Apertura and many people had thought that Colon would battle for the Clausura Championship, but after getting slapped around by Boca Juniors in Week 3 of the Clausura, Colon finished at mid-table 20 points behind Champions River Plate.
Will Osvaldo Ardiles help Racing up to the top? Merlo said, "forget it", after requesting for more personnel to help the club prepare for the upcoming season and the 2003 Copa Libertadores. However the club is trying to make mends will a tight budget and denied Merlo his request. The club still has Maximiliano Estevez and Gerardo Bedoya, but astonishingly La Academia only has 4 natural midfielders. Now one can see while Merlo jumped ship.
Arsenal Futbol Club and Club Olimpo from Bahia Blanca are the new kids on the block. Can either team reciprocate the performance of Banfield or Nueva Chicago? Arsenal will be banking on Jorge Burruchaga to take this team to the promise land, but with players like Maurcio Piersimone and Gustavo Grondona it appears that storm clouds are forming over the Estadio del Viaducto in Sarandí, where Arsenal plays. We do know one thing, the 2002 Apertura will start this weekend and those questions will be answered. The rest of the weekend's fixtures are listed below.
SoccerAge (http://www.soccerage.com/en/13/g0823.html)
74 Minute: Rosario Central 0 - 0 San Lorenzo
Jeepers, trying to keep up with all of the changes in this league is a very huge task indeed. Starting with the recent resignation of Reinaldo Merlo of Racing on Wednesday evening, the teams are in constant flux. Many of these changes have to do with cash-strapped clubs trying to do more with less. Starting with River Plate selling Ariel Ortega for top dollar to Fenerbahce, Boca Juniors doing the same with Juan Roman Riquelme, and even Gimnasia La Plata striking a deal with Fulham and selling away their top striker Facundo Sava. Many teams are selling their stars in an effort to survive. Teams like Independente and San Lorenzo, which have dominated the Argentina liga in seasons past, are in deep financial crisis where they might not be able to recover from. Can those teams rebound? So the question that needs to be answered is which team or individual will step up and take advantage of the Power Vacuum.
Well two players that can fill the Power vacuum are Andres D'Alessandro and Fernando Cavenaghi. Cavenaghi was the leading scorer in the Clausura, but many believe that having Ortega up front helped him get to the top. Can Cavenaghi continue to produce? D'Alessandro will need to provide quality service to Cavenaghi and or River might be looking very desperate to score goals. Maybe Manual Pellegrini will insert Nelson Cuevas, the young striker that looked so spectacular in the World Cup for Paraguay. Cuevas struggled to find time under Ramon Diaz, but that might be changing now with Pellegrini in charge.
Can Colon finally step up with the big boys? The team from Santa Fe had so much praise for their strong finish in the 2001 Apertura and many people had thought that Colon would battle for the Clausura Championship, but after getting slapped around by Boca Juniors in Week 3 of the Clausura, Colon finished at mid-table 20 points behind Champions River Plate.
Will Osvaldo Ardiles help Racing up to the top? Merlo said, "forget it", after requesting for more personnel to help the club prepare for the upcoming season and the 2003 Copa Libertadores. However the club is trying to make mends will a tight budget and denied Merlo his request. The club still has Maximiliano Estevez and Gerardo Bedoya, but astonishingly La Academia only has 4 natural midfielders. Now one can see while Merlo jumped ship.
Arsenal Futbol Club and Club Olimpo from Bahia Blanca are the new kids on the block. Can either team reciprocate the performance of Banfield or Nueva Chicago? Arsenal will be banking on Jorge Burruchaga to take this team to the promise land, but with players like Maurcio Piersimone and Gustavo Grondona it appears that storm clouds are forming over the Estadio del Viaducto in Sarandí, where Arsenal plays. We do know one thing, the 2002 Apertura will start this weekend and those questions will be answered. The rest of the weekend's fixtures are listed below.
SoccerAge (http://www.soccerage.com/en/13/g0823.html)
74 Minute: Rosario Central 0 - 0 San Lorenzo