I wish Pity had let Morita take the penalty and he'd machine gun celebrated in front of La 12 like in 2016...
Pity deserved it, though. Even though he won over a lot of the fans after the clasico in the bombonera, some people were still questioning him recently. I have a feeling his career in River is approaching it's end, so it's kind of nice to see him get well-deserved credit in an important game. He has been key in several superclasicos... - In tonight's game with the perfect pass to Nacho Fernandez (in the play that ended in PK) and then the sublime maneuver/assist in the second goal.... - In the 3-1 in the Bombonera -- scored the first goal, assisted Alario in the second. - In the Copa Libertadores, they committed the foul against him for the penalty that decided the series. The guy has received tons of criticism since he arrived.. granted much of it was warranted before, he has done a fantastic job in completely flipping the image and becoming essential to the team. He deserved the PK
Its not so much that Pity didn't deserve it, I was just thinking more of Mora's incredibly long road to recovery and the big fact that the Bosteros all truly hate him for his many goals in clasicos, but in particular, that one in Mendoza two years ago with the machine gun celebration- where the fraud Tevez attacked him, even though he himself had done the same celebration when playing for Juventus against Fiorentina. So again, its not that I didn't think pity deserved it, I just would have loved to have seen the rabid anger on the boca supporters' faces had mora been the one to score then to repeat the celebration from 2 years before, but in the end it doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is that we lifted the cup in their faces despite all the corruption surrounding boca, the referees, and the AFA. Obviously River has a lot to prove and certain players like Pratto- seriously how is this guy our most expensive ever signing- still need to prove themselves, but a victory in a classico like that should give us the confidence needed to make a run in the copa. For me right now River is Armani, Ponzio, Scocco, +8
Armani, Ponzio, Scocco, Pity, +7 Pity Martinez is huge. Wasn't this his first start this year? He's matured into such a vital player so subtly that I think we still occasionally miss out on his importance to the team; he genuinely seems to have corrected a lot of the mistakes that plagued his first years at the club, he's learned to look up before dribbling (like he did just before losing his man and setting up Scocco for the second), he's learned when it is and when it isn't appropriate to try and dribble his way out of a complicated situation (I still remember when he tried to do what he did to Nandez in the second half a few years ago when there was no one else on that flank, leading to a goal on the counter for the other team)... Basically, I think Pity has proven he deserved to be here and he deserves to be a key part of this team. It's a shame that in this day and age a player of his caliber can't ever stay long in Argentina once they're at his current level, because I think he could go on to be a real idol at the club if given the chance. I would understand if he left after the World Cup (hell, I'd love to see him make the expanded squad... I mean, if Scaloni and Garcé were named to a WC squad, why shouldn't a star like Pity?), and I just hope he wants to come back at some point. Also completely agree that this match with any of our other keepers would have been so tragically one-sided I don't even want to imagine: any of the three bigger saves would have been guaranteed goals with Lux or Batalla.
It's likely that Armani will be a salve for our memory in the same way that Barovero was. Remember seeing the likes of Ojeda, Vega, Navarro in goal?
River got a much needed 2-0 win away to Racing to move into the Sudamericana qualification places. Normally, when your goalie is the star of the match its a bad sign, but this is why River bought Armani and he is proving he's worth every penny. The clown Sampaoli was in the stands, but will he call him up? Borre is a player I don't understand. He looks so timid and just terrible on some occasions, yet his goals to minutes ratio is probably really good. I am not calling for Borre to start, but I don't like Pratto at all. Sure he is doing "dirty work" and fighting the centrals of the other team, but for 14 million dollars we need goals and he has only two, one was a golazo, sure, but the other IMO was an own goal because it took two massive deflections and probably wasn't going on target. Palacios looks very good. Excellent assist on Borre's goal, and great acceleration to storm into the box and then past the keep to score the second. I really like the kid he is a talent to watch. Saracchi has been such a good signing and he still isn't even 20 yet. River needs to keep hold of him for two more seasons minimum. We play Rosario Central next at home and we need to win to solidify ourselves in the Sudamericana places and to pull closer to the Libertadores spots.
I really liked the team against Racing, the Acade played aggressively in the first half (and we owe it to Armani that we went to the break still tied), but I think the team is starting to gel. Quintero is a great signing, and I hope he continues to improve as he becomes better integrated with the squad. I actually liked Pratto as well, a play where he brought the ball down gently with his head for Pity was something I haven't seen a striker at River do in a long while. He's clearly still adjusting to being back in Argentina, but at this rate I think he could be vital next season -- and I think Pratto/Scocco is our best striker duo. Both Borré and Palacios looked much, much better than on previous occasions. Borré took his goal well, and Palacios looked more keen and more dangerous than he had in previous appearances.
[QUOTE="megamac20817, post: 36494811, member: 64986"]I really liked the team against Racing, the Acade played aggressively in the first half (and we owe it to Armani that we went to the break still tied), but I think the team is starting to gel. Quintero is a great signing, and I hope he continues to improve as he becomes better integrated with the squad. I actually liked Pratto as well, a play where he brought the ball down gently with his head for Pity was something I haven't seen a striker at River do in a long while. He's clearly still adjusting to being back in Argentina, but at this rate I think he could be vital next season -- and I think Pratto/Scocco is our best striker duo. Both Borré and Palacios looked much, much better than on previous occasions. Borré took his goal well, and Palacios looked more keen and more dangerous than he had in previous appearances.[/QUOTE] I agree with this 100%. I think too often people say a team played badly just because their goalie makes some great saves. But my argument is always that the goalie is part of the team. So if we have a great keeper, we should take advantage. Now what I'm going to say may be controversial, but I think Armani is a better keeper than Barovero. Now, I don't mean that Armani will be a bigger idol at River or accomplish as much as Trapito did for us, but in terms of just keeping ability Armani is far better. Obviously, Armani would need to win so much and stop a penalty against Boca in a continental semifinal to reach the heights that Barovero did, but Armani is the real deal and IMO the best pure shot stopper I've seen at River in my life time and he also has amazing command of his area, which is where he really sets himself apart from Barovero. Again, this is not a knock on Trapito who is an idol at the club, but more just praise for Armani. The sad thing is, that given Armani's age (31) and Barovero's (34) it seems likely Trapito's career will end in the obscurity of Mexican football for a below average club like Nexaca, but then again thats the decision he made, however as a fan I would have liked to have seen him in a River shirt again...
Big game tonight for River in the Copa against Emelec in Guayaquil. It won't be easy, we only just won there last season thanks to that late Alario goal. Tonight we need to win to start our path to the knockout stages. So far, we have only two points, Flamengo has 5 and Independiente Santa Fe has 3, though each of them have played one more game. If we lose tonight, its safe to say our qualification will be in serious jeopardy, while a draw will make things difficult in such a tight group. Hopefully River will be ready to play and we can finish our chances. I haven't seen Emelec this season so I don't know what to expect, but its not an altitude game like those in Quito so River should be clear favorites. Its going to be down to Pratto, who has hit a bit of form, but he still needs to justify the ludicrous transfer fee we paid for him and the way you do that is by scoring in the Libertadores away from home, not against Defensa y Justicia. I am liking Quintero everytime he plays, but its clear IMO that Gallardo does not trust his fitness. In what I believe was his only start (against Racing), he looked gassed and he got pulled after only an hour. Maybe keeping him as a supersub is not a bad idea though, he changed the course of the game last week against Rosario Central
So it turns out they placed an 8 million dollar release clause in Armani’s contract Just like how they undervalued Alaril, Driussi, and Pity with those 15 million euro clauses.. meanwhile Boca places 30million+ clauses for lesser talents like Benedetto and Pavon. We should learn from them
With Flamengo's 0-0 tie in Santa Fe, a win today would leave us pretty well positioned in the group. Should we win, we'd hop up to first place with 8 points -- 2 ahead of Flamengo, and 4 more than third placed Independiente. In that case all we'd have to do is tie in the following round against the Colombians, and then we could lose 560-0 to Flamengo in the last game and still advance. Of course we still have to get the win vs. Emelec first, but if it does indeed happen we will be practically set for the Round of 16.
We should beat Emelec. We did not play well in the first leg and got the result away. Anything you can get away from home in the Copa is a plus and a set piece winner is a major plus. I am not 100% convinced by what Gallardo considers to be our "A" team that will play tonight. I know this team beat Boca, but the three names that most need to convince me are Nacho Fernandez, Montiel, and Pratto. I love Morita and I think he has an important part to play, but I am not sure if he should be in the "once de gala" I know Scocco's form has dropped off a bit, but I feel this has mainly happened when Pratto arrived and he started getting rotated out of the squad. I still think that when River needs goals, Scocco will be the one who gets them for us... Pratto may be that guy, but he is still so unconvincing to me. i think Quintero deserves a shot to be in the first choice starting 11. I know Gallardo was/is skeptical of his fitness, but surely after so much time, he should be ready to play 90 minutes...
We need Scocco and Quinteros in there.. Pratto has been absolute crap this first half and we're missing that precise playmaker in the final third. They must come in for the last 45
Quintero is a BEAST! Barely came in and created the goal. Complete animal, you don't find players with his vision anymore..
Like I said... Quintero needs to be starting. Great win, we are well on our way to the next round. We need to improve, but this part of the copa is just about getting out of the group, then we'll see what happens and how many reinforcements we can bring in Vamos!!!!
You are right. His vision and his passing are such great old school attributes. I hope he continues to play well because I think Pekerman can utilize his strengths in certain situations at the National Team level off the bench just like he is being used right now by Gallardo.
Its kind of strange, because you don't normally think of a player with Quintero's attributes being the type to make instant impact off the bench... but he is really amazing in that role. That being said, and as much as I like him making an impact, I'd much rather see him for 90 minutes because Nacho Fernandez has been in decline since the Copa Argentina Final last year
Don't get me wrong. I would love to see him get many more minutes for River. Just nice seeing him play well off the bench too because that is the way he will be used if he is selected for Russia.
He did score quite a damn good goal in the Copa Argentina Final, which gave us a trophy in what was an otherwise disastrous 2017... So yes, he has been very poor for a while now, and I am not a big fan of his and I believe he needs to be benched, but we shouldn't forget that he did score a pretty damn important goal....not that it excuses his red card against Bosta, or his other red card against Lanus, but still....
River can reach the next round of the copa tonight with a win or a draw. A win would obviously be preferable, as it could leave us in a great position to be one of the top seeds in the knock out rounds. The team is the "once de gala" from the previous matches: Like I've said before, Nacho Fernandez needs to go to the bench for Quintero and I'm not 100% sure about the front two and no Scocco. Montiel should eventually be replaced too, but the other 8 players are definite starters in my book. VAMOS RIVER CARAJO