Apertura 2006 - Predictions

[Gray1977]

I know its a couple of weeks away but I thought it'd be interesting to see how you all think the new season will go. Obviously the January transfer window means its hard to predict the Clausura so just Apertura predictions, top 6 maybe? And why you think it'll happen. Thanks.
Mine is

1. Velez (Consistent, simple as that. Maybe this wont happen if they win the Libertadores, sometimes teams fall back a bit after great triumphs)
2. River (Lots to prove, Ortega and fully fit Figueroa will thrive)
3. Boca (Midfield looks alot weaker, but still a good team)
4. Rosario Central (Dark horses for me, Wanchope and Kily are great signings)
5. Estudiantes (Good team, good strikers, and Veron)
6. Racing Club (A Merlo led Racing will be an exciting team)

I suppose alot of you will have Independiente in your top 6 but I'm still not convinced. I think Gimnasia LP, San Lorenzo and Lanus will be okay and top half at least, all should be pushing for Top 6 but I think they'll miss out, Newells could be good but could be awful depending on how things work out with their reinforcements.
All in all I think its really hard predicting things for this season which I think is a good thing. There are arguably 4 or 5 teams who think they can win the title, and probably about 12 who think they can qualify for one of the Copas for 2008. Isnt that a great thing about Argentinian football, its never predictable and usually competitive.

[ruiza97]

1. Velez (Consistent, simple as that. Maybe this wont happen if they win the Libertadores, sometimes teams fall back a bit after great triumphs)


I like your style!

[Jamooky]

Hey Gray! When will Lucho Figueroa be fully fit? He's the one River player I can honostly say I root for :eek:

Apertura seems pretty wide open.
I'm excited to see how Boca adjusts, and I think we may have upgraded at GK

[maxpepper]

boca has a great new goalkeeper, but insua was a big part of the team....

I'll be rooting for boca and independiente :)

[Gray1977]

Jamooky, hiya. Figueroa has said he'll back for the start of the Torneo, dont know if thats true but he should be back sooner than later.
To other points, yeah max, Boca does have a new goalie, maybe a better one as well, but the midfield looks weak, I dont see alot goals from that part of the field. Of course they know this as well and Macri may be looking at players as we speak (of course he wanted Kily Gonzalez). I'm a River fan and I think we have potential, but so many teams can say the same right now, and alot of them have a good feeling around them. Racing, Central, San Lorenzo, Velez, Independiente, Estudiantes. All of them can do good things, I cant wait for the season to begin. And ruiza, hi to you too!

[locoxriver]

I suppose alot of you will have Independiente in your top 6 but I'm still not convinced.
I would still mention Independiente in the top 6.. Rosario Central and Racing ahead of them? I don't think so.. They got Montenegro who was River's best player the last semester, without a doubt.. He was amazing.. They also got Dennis, a player I loved to watch in Colon.. I really wanted him to come to River, another great player.. Then, they bought Gioda, who is one of the best defenders in the Argentine league right now, in my opinion.. And they have a few other reinforcements.. I definently would put them in my top 6, maybe even in the top 3.

[Pekerman]

If Boca sign Bielsa as a coach they can do WONDERS next season. I am expecting my club Independiente to do well this season. We have a good foundation and plenty of talent. Yes we did lose Aguero but contrary to popular belief we never were a one man team.

Veron and Kily could still be playing at top leagues in Europe. They will both have great seasons.

[Gray1977]

I agree, the good thing about this season is that their are players in Argentina who are there for the passion when they could be playing in Europe. Veron, Kily, Wanchope, Ortega and several others could still be playing to a high level in Europe. It makes me very optimistic about the quality and competion that we'll see this season.
And, Locoxriver and Pekerman, I did say that several people will have Independiente as challengers, thats fair enough, they have a good looking squad and have potential to win the title, I just think it may take more than one season to blend it together, maybe the Clausura will be the season for them to challenge. I may be wrong. And I know Rosario Central is an outside bet, but I think Kily and Wanchope are brilliant signings, there are goals in that team and they'll be strong at home, so top 4-5 isnt out of the question. I suppose we'll see in December.

[ElMuneco]

I know its a couple of weeks away but I thought it'd be interesting to see how you all think the new season will go. Obviously the January transfer window means its hard to predict the Clausura so just Apertura predictions, top 6 maybe? And why you think it'll happen. Thanks.
Mine is

1. Velez (Consistent, simple as that. Maybe this wont happen if they win the Libertadores, sometimes teams fall back a bit after great triumphs)
2. River (Lots to prove, Ortega and fully fit Figueroa will thrive)
3. Boca (Midfield looks alot weaker, but still a good team)
4. Rosario Central (Dark horses for me, Wanchope and Kily are great signings)
5. Estudiantes (Good team, good strikers, and Veron)
6. Racing Club (A Merlo led Racing will be an exciting team)

I suppose alot of you will have Independiente in your top 6 but I'm still not convinced. I think Gimnasia LP, San Lorenzo and Lanus will be okay and top half at least, all should be pushing for Top 6 but I think they'll miss out, Newells could be good but could be awful depending on how things work out with their reinforcements.
All in all I think its really hard predicting things for this season which I think is a good thing. There are arguably 4 or 5 teams who think they can win the title, and probably about 12 who think they can qualify for one of the Copas for 2008. Isnt that a great thing about Argentinian football, its never predictable and usually competitive.

I can't really see Velez coming out on top with the losses of Gracian, Zarate, and now an injured Castroman. Those are some tough shoes to fill. As for Independiente, sure they brought in Montenegro, Denis, Gioda, Barijho, and so on, but when you bring so many new faces in, it takes time for them to gel. As for Boca, I think the losses of Insua and Bilos are going to affect the team immensely. Insua is a player that when he's on his game, it's VERY hard to stop him. Bilos is a player that always scared the crap outta me cause of his height advantage. They should've brought in Alejandro Delorte to replace him. As for River, with the additions of Ortega, Belluschi, Lussenhoff, and the return of "Lucho" Figueroa and Falcao, the ball is in their court. Hopefully they won't drop it like they did on Tuesday night.

[megamac20817]

To be fair, on Tuesday it was more of a case of having to pick up the ball... We had lost many of our main players, and none of our reinforcements were there (except Caceres technically).

Looking at the teams, Boca and River still remain as top contenders, but Lanus, Gimansia LP, Estudiantes, Independiente, Velez, Central, Newell's and we can't forget Colon can mount a serious challenge.

[leoriver]

River has to win something soon.With all the adjustments they have done there is no excuse. I'm still pissed about how they (dirigentes) let go el Rolfi .We felt it in the Libertadores,only player that would shoot from the outside.Gioda was an excellent defender for Lanus's good run they had in the Clausura,another player I would have liked to see River have in the back field,instead of getting Tuzzio.:rolleyes:

Boca well they are always favorites along with River,but they have lost some key players and now that Basile might take the head coach job for the national team will be anohtre big loss for them,which of course I don't mind.They got an excellent keeper,Bobadilla blocked everything that River threw at him in la copa,but in la fecha 10 the only thing he will be getting out is the balls from inside the goal.;)

Independiente,well to start off with they upgraded in the coach position.Burru to me is an excellent coach.If it wasn't Bianchi to get the job as Argentina's coach I would have liked it to be Burruchaga.They got Denis,El Modelo Barijho,Montenegro,Gioda,etc...If they don't take it this year it will probably be the following.Team to look out for.

Central eh...

Racing :rolleyes:

Belez they always seem to find players from their youth program but they sold Grazian to Monterrey.To fill his shoes will be hard.But Belez always puts up a fight.

San Lorenzo....

[elciclon]

i like river, and central. independiente is going to be up there butr the have to blend in first. dissapointments probably velez, boca, lanus( sold alot some good players). as far as san lorenzo is concerned it's probably going to be another dissapointing season

[efernandez9]

bump

[crzdcolombian]

River will win and Falcao Garcia will be the #1 striker

and Maradona will be coach of boca

[megamac20817]

Ha! That would be very funny indeed, him at Boca, coaching.

[Illrod3]

I don't see Velez being that good this year, they lost some key players (Roly, Somoza, Gracian) and Roly did not leave in the best of possible terms. Is his brother Mauro still with the team? That said, they always bring up new talented players.
I think that River has all the pressure to win and hope they do so. I agree that Independiente and Racing should improve but I don't see Racing winning anything, Independiente will compete for the championship with players like Denis and Montenegro, Falcioni's base from last year and an inspired Burru coaching. Boca still has a strong talented base from last year but some key players will be a year older (Ibarra, Palermo, Schelloto) and the coaching situation might affect them, but as always they will be be a contender. Lanus is still Lanus and will only be a mid-level team. My surprise teams are Banfield, Colon & Gimnasia. While Central and Estudiantes will be interesting to follow.

[Illrod3]

As a River fan I really hope that Maradona coaches Boca, what a mess would he make out of Boca!!

http://www.ole.clarin.com/jsp/v4/pag...cha=2006 0731

[crzdcolombian]

I dont think Maradona would be a good coach... hed prob put himself in the game wearing the #10... has he even taken courses how to be a coach?

I love him as a player but I think its pretty bonehead thing to do for him to be BOCas coach one of the biggest teams in the world to have someone that doesnt no what he is doing

[Gray1977]

I look at it another way. Boca would be in a position were every young Argentinian footballers hero would be their coach. Unless a kid had River allegiances they would jump at the chance to play for them. Boca could have their pick, everyone else would get the leftovers. Its hard to underestimate Maradona's lure when it comes to Boca attracting players on board. And, how many aging internationals or Argentinians in Europe would be tempted back to play for Diego? Quite a few I think. With the money Boca will make selling Gago and Palacio next Summer, they'll have money to spend. If Maradona was coach it would be interesting to see who they would sign. But, sticking to the Apertura 2006, they'll finish 2nd or 3rd as I originally predicted.

[vipnerd]

Well ... for all those enthusiastic over the posibilities of their teams, I stick to mine.

Teams are formed from the back up, and in that department I haven't seen any team that has their back 4 + DMs as strong and oiled as Boca.

Boca has plenty of alternatives to provide damage upfront. Surely Pocho will be missed, but the team could adapt to play without him, as his main asset was moving with the ball rather than assists.

Boca's midfield looks as strong as last semester, when Bilos really disappointed. A more mature Gago and an injury recovered Battaglia. TO replace Bilos' role, Boca has plenty to choose from: Ledesma, Neri, Marino or Datolo. Liked Datolo's shape at Banfield ... the kid has a lot to prove. And with the shape of Guille in pre-season, I wouldn't be surprised to see him become a starter along Palacio and Palermo. And still have Chelo to hurt.

Boca's chances are as strong as last year ... with the added incentive of looking for the tri. :D

In summary, there are teams that have improved their overall squads as Independiente, Central and Estudiantes ... others that should had challenged for the title are weaker, like Velez, Newells and Lanus ... while River has basically replaced: Ortega < Rolfi, Lussenhoff < Caceres and Belluschi > Santana; and no more Figueroa. Net profit for River? I don't think so.

IMHO, the title is still Boca's to lose.


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