I like Vega's play, he could be useful as CB and LB also, on the other hand he loves River! ¡Bienvenido Pibe!
Gotta love the AFA. Player returns from a loan, yet counts as one of the three reinforcements. Yet, if you loan out a foreigner, he still takes up one of the 4 foreigner spots you have. You couldn't make this stuff up
Apparently Napoli representatives are present in today's Copa game to observe Gonzalo Martinez. Looks like we might lose him when he finally found his form. He has been nothing but fire since Gallardo switched him to the right flank.
The Italian press claims River and Roma have reached an initial agreement over Sebastian Driussi's transfer (rumored at 10-12 million euros)
His agent came out and said there is nothing official yet. Maybe it is a ploy to get a bidding war started. http://www.football-italia.net/103494/driussi-agent-roma-opportunity
Maybe.... But it wouldnt surprise me. Roma has a thing for young, offensive Argentine talent (Lamela, Paredes, Iturbe), and with Totti retiring now it makes even more sense
That's true. Plus, Monchi is at Roma now, he was with Sevilla for a while and he always brought in young South Americans but he also had a good eye for young talent. A week back or so there were rumors West Brom were interested in Alario. I am hoping he stays away from any English team, especially a middle of the table/ bottom dweller. Sure, it would be better than going to City and sitting on the bench, but move to Spain, Italy, hell even Germany but stay away from England. You passed up big money from China, if it is England or China, I'd tell him to go for the money in China. If you want your career to stagnate, at least get paid loads of money to do so.
Borussia Dortmund is the latest name added to the ever-growing list of teams interested in Lucas Alario
Yeah, I saw that. From all the clubs that have been linked to him, i.e. Inter, Roma, Tottenham, and Lazio and Valencia, I think Dortmund might be the most intriguing. Coach after coach, they've played a wonderful style of futbol and I think Alario would fit in there quite well. If I am not mistaken, Dortmund have recently hired Ajax's manager who comes from the classic Dutch style of attacking futbol. Also, it will be only club where he will perhaps be a regular starter, Roma have Dzeko, Inter have MI9, Tottenham have Kane and Valencia does not have the money. Dortmund plan to sell Aubameyang so there will be room for him to perhaps start. Valencia would perhaps be seen as the "easiest" tranisition with language and culture but they are having a difficult time meeting the 15 million release but I believe his agent and management will ask closer to 20 million for his services. As a fan of the player, I'd like to see him at a club where he could start and continue to progress.
At this point, we might as well link Alario and Driussi to 90% of the clubs in Europe. Borussia Dortmund? Now, maybe my memory is faulty, but this is not a club that goes for south americans or more specifically argentines. In fact, the only transfers I remember from River to German clubs were Diego Placente to Leverkusen and Demcihelis to FC Bayern and these were about 15 years ago. So obviously, any club would want Alario, but so much of football these days is done through agents and connections, so I just don't see it. Whatever happens, D'Onofrio just needs to hold strong. He is under no obligation to sell either player (unless of course a club meets their release clause), and he must keep his word to the socios in an election year. If one of them does leave because their clause is played, the only player to bring in is Teo. He and Gallardo should put their differences aside because Teo is the only player out there who knows the club, won't feel the pressure, and can immediately make an impact in the latter stages of the copa libertadores. Alario arriving from Colon and practically winning us the Copa with 2 goals and 2 assists in semis and final was nothing short of a miracle, and won't happen again.
Two Russian sides have reportedly made offers on Driussi. Lokomotiv Moscow and Zenit are preparing to meet the 15me release for him, Zenit are supposedly offering 20me for him.
So far nothing official. Like I said, we can pretty much link Driussi and Alario to every club in Europe, but until an official offer arrives, theres not much to say. If the Zenit rumor is true, it all depends if Driussi values money or sporting glory. I hope whoever is advising him has the best interests of the kid at heart. Cavenaghi's career completely derailed when he went to Spartak, later admitting it was only for money. He did do very well later on at Bordeaux, but its hard not to think how much better a career Cavegol would have had had he gone to a club in Italy or Spain instead. On the flip side, Chori Dominguez did very well in Russia with Rubin Kazan and Zenit, and he was eventually able to get to Valencia, then River, Rayo, and Olympiakos. However, he never came close to the seleccion, and had he put in similar performances in a bigger league as he did in Russia, he would have been an easy choice. So in the end, it all comes down to Driussi as I know D'Onofrio won't sell him unless the release clause is met. 20 million is quite a bit of cash though. If, and thats a big if, D'Onofrio were to reinvest that money in the squad, we could sign Carlos Sanchez, Teo, and Enzo Perez. However, we know its never that easy... I just hope the kids makes the right move
I've stated it before, going to Russia, Ukraine or any Eastern European country is somewhat of a career death sentence for many South Americans. But if you're going to play in Russia, the two cities you're going to want to play in is Moscow and Saint Petersburg. Both cities have the perks when it comes to beauty, nightlife and rich history but you'll have to throw yourselves into Russia's culture and embrace it. Now,I wouldn't expect some young Argentino who likely listens to cumbia and is thinking about his next tattoo to go to the Bolshoi Theatre, begin to listen to Tchaikovsky and read Dostoyevsky but to be fully accepted by the Russian fanbase it will be important for a player not only to produce on the pitch but also try to connect with their fans. The Russian fanbase from my understanding tends to look at foreigners with a suspicious eye. I believe it was Zenit's fan base that demanded the club not to have any black players on their club not too long ago, they supposedly gave Axel Witsel a pass because he had white blood and blue eyes. I personally like Driussi and I believe he could be seen as a regular on the seleccion(In the future) if he continues to get better each year but again, going to Russia could very well be a difficult adjustment on numerous levels and can stump his progression. But if he wants to chase the money, you cannot fault the kid. If he goes and plays in Russia for 3-4 years, he'll still be in his mid 20's and could still have a long and successful career ahead of him.
"River es demasiado grande como para darse el lujo de ir a cualquier lado. Eso les digo a los que tienen ofertas" - Marcelo Gallardo
Regarding Alario, his agent and D'Onofrio insist that he will most likely stay til December unless an unexpected offer meeting his transfer clause arrives in the next 2 months. If I recall correctly, I remember reading last year that if River doesn't sell Lucas before June 2018, Colon would be obligated to sell us their remaining 40% for $1,800,000 (agreed in 2015 when he arrived at River).. So who knows.... maybe he'll even stick around for a full 12 months. It would definitely be more beneficial to River financially (we're talking an additional +/- 5-6 million for River if we were to wait, on top of counting with the best forward in the country for a whole extra year) As for Driussi, I could picture him leaving to Russia if one of the two offers prosper. I know D'Onofrio insists that the plan is to keep him, but I don't see that offer being turned down by neither the club nor the player if it formally arrives
Juan Cortese @juancortese Gallardo "Esta dentro de las posibilidades traer un arquero para el próximo semestre" I love you Napoleon, but news flash, it shouldn't be a possibility, it should be a PRIORITY to bring in a new goalkeeper. And, we need one by July 4th, not for next semester... Chichizola and Lux are both free. I'd take either, or both to be honest.
Apparently Armani wants to move now, but I dont know how River's relationship is with him and his agent after the failed transfer last year. If we were to move forward with him, it is rumored we'd need to put down $2.5 million.... the negative is he'd be ineligible in the Libertadores, since he already participated in this edition with Atletico Nacional... German Lux recently became a free agent and he has often spoken in the past about how he dreams of returning... I don't know if it's still in his plans since the dirigentes havent contacted him, but we'll see... Apparently he's veru close to signing with Sevilla, but if River steps in he might have second thoughts since the opportunity might not come again for him. Chichizola was also recently released in Italy... Despite his heroic penalty save vs Racing, the kid still had his Battalla-esque errors regularly. Besides, we'd have to see if he'd even consider returning to the country at such a young age to begin with. Other than that, who could fill the spot? It's not easy finding Barovero. Please no Guzman or any of those other super overpriced mediocre GKs
I agree that Guzman would be a disaster. I can't believe some River fans on social media are putting his name forward. Its seriously disturbing some people rate him as a top keeper As for Lux going to Sevilla.... Well they have an established #1 there, so he'd go as a back up, where as at River he knows he'll be the starter hands down. He has been in Europe for a decade, he's made quite a bit of money I'm sure, so maybe he'll prioritize playing time and potential glory to a big pay check. I don't think Lux is FIllol or Amadeo or anything, but he knows what it means to play the Libertadores with River having reached 2 semifinals. Considering he knows the club, and we know how D'Onofrio and Francescoli love free transfers, I see Lux as the best option.
According to Radio La Red, Javier Pinola called the River directors and said his dream is to play with River. The guy is 34 and just coming back from a horrible knee injury. I also don't like the idea of another long, drawn out, street fight with Rosario Central. I guess he could be sort of like Schiavi for Estudiantes when he joined them just for the Libertadores and helped them get over the line even though he was mid 30s, and Pinola is capable of playing left back where he would at least be able to defend unlike Casco, and at CB he is an upgrade on M Quarta, who has a bright future, but was poor today, and has had a few nightmares this season. But... the negotiations with Central will be awful as I said above, and the price tag they'd want for a 34 year old with a bad knee...
Chori Dominguez officially announced his exit from Olympiakos today. One step closer to his return? As for the GK situation, it seems German Lux could be getting the thumbs up after all. He knows what it means to represent River's jersey, would arrive without spending a dime, and -unlike many other candidates- would be Libertadores eligible. The fact that he shared many locker rooms with Gallardo as a player probably helps too
100% support Lux coming in, I've always been a huge fan of his, and look forward to seeing what he can bring to the table with a decade of experience under his belt (he left the club somewhat in disgrace, although I wouldn't rule out Passarella's ego playing a large part in it too). I'm not sure what Chori can offer to the current squad though, we saw how Lucho struggled, but if he can contribute he's more than welcome.