Yeah, I thought they played acceptably yesterday. It's just a shame they had to play against this Barcelona. Any other team in the world, literally any other team and they have had a great chance to win. Unfortunately we don't draw mediocre teams like Milan in finals. Until next year fellas.
Given that Europe basically buy all of South America's best players, I was surprised that the first half was as evenly matched as it turned out to be.
I'm really excited to see Batalla it's about time he's been given some game time. Hes got to be the starter when Barovero leaves in June. The rest of the line up is not very tantalizing... Mayada being played out of position again, Nico Domingo, Casco, Bertolo, it's a pretty shit line up in all honesty. I do want to see lucho. A full preseason will do him good. Also hoping Balanta can continue his search for form..l but the majority of this line up is god awful, but hey at least we get to see river again after a month
So Nico Domingo is actually looking really good out there Bertolo and Casco have been as expected, absolute garbage. Every attack down the left is doomed. Lucho is trying to be too fancy at times. Good Balanta. Mayada has such speed it's a waste to not play him in midfield. His bursts have so much potential
Bertolo actually managed to score a goal... With his ass. This guy is so terrible it's not even funny. Casco was equally as bad. I can't believe we had the chance to get tagliafico and instead we ended up with Milton Dionisio Casco. Seriously this could be one of the biggest errors in history Balanta started off well but he was all over the place in the second half, then again what could he really do with Casco playing on his side of the field Nico Domingo was the best river player. Batalla is so young and was clearly nervous. With all the meaningless games we had last semester in the torneo, I can't believe Gallardo never gave him and minutes and kept putting in the muerto chiarini. We need another forward badly. If alario gets hurt were absolutely screwed
Meh. It's only a friendly. If he can give 5 straight performances like that in serious competitions then we can speak of a "Gallardo genius move". But so far he's just as good as Casco to me considering his play at Banfield I. The past.
I'm well aware, I was just commenting how while Casco and Bertolo were their usual selves- ie complete shit- Domingo actually looked good. And I mean good- he robbed balls, he pushed forward, and made some nice passes to open the field. It was shocking. It's not that I back Domingo it's more that I was surprised. Also remember, Domingo won't play the big games. Ponzio and Lucho will almost certainly be the center midfield duo. There's also Arzura, who will need a time to adapt, but I would rate higher than Domingo, who I think was brought in because he is experienced and, even though each of his last 3 spells at the club were poor, he doesn't need a time to adapt as he already know what it means to play in River. Whether he's good enough is another issue
Yeah. I can see your point. If Domingo is half-way decent we could use the extra man power for the 2 tournaments. Or at least 3 if we want to win the Copa Argentina (hell yeah!!!).
I gotta say im pleasantly surprised by Domingo's form... He is doing very well and is very active, always asking for the ball. If he continues like this, who says he doesnt win himself a spot in the long run? Lucho and ponzio are great players with undeniable quality, but both have cold streaks, so we'll have to see how they arrive in the beginning of the season
Random thoughts post first 2016 super: Nacho Fernandez, Domingo, and Balanta... Vangioni's still at a poor level, not sure what's going on... Casco, despite still making tons of mistakes, looked better on the right than in the usual position Gallardo plays him on the left. Could be that he benefitted from the open spaces generated by Boca's reds, but he looked more comfortable on this side IMO... Lastly, I wish Maidana would have continued kicking tevezs ass... I like carlitos' tough pibe de barrio attitude, but as soon as maidana responded to his "whatchu gonna do?" remarks, he fell to the ground like a little bitch
River didn't play well, but we did what needed to be done which is beat the smoke sellers. Balanta was immense. Nacho Fernandez looks promising. Nico Domingo looks like a different person than the guy who sucked horribly during his previous 3 spells at the club. The midfield duo of Lucho and Ponzio may be just a tad too slow... Domingo could come in or maybe Azura. We're still working out the kinks but there's no reason why we can't win the copa libertsdores again. If boca is the big favorite because they signed big smoke osvaldo, I'll take our chances with Alario and Mora who actually no what it means to score important goals in the libertsdores
Hahahahahaha what a laughing stock CASLA... Our scrubs beat them and even Driussi had two. Honestly why play teams like Boca and CASLA anymore? I dont see a point, I'd rather do preseason over seas
3 horrible back passes nearly cost us. One from Balanta, two from Mercado... We allowed them so much space and we were so imprecise. Once Nacho Fernandez got more involved, we became dangerous. Alario stopped trying to just to back heels and flicks and began to play and that really helped too. We can beat these clowns obviously, we just need to play like we did the last 10 minutes, not the first 35 PD Vangioni has been awful yet again. I never like keeping a player once he has been sold, and I have a bad feeling about Vangioni. He was trash last week and tonight I can't remember a single thing he did well. Literally not a single thing.
Vamos River querido! Not a great performance, but beating scum like Carlos Tevez always feels good. We need to improve, but the important thing tonight was to win and we did it. Boca barely threatens in the second half. Balanta was immense. Ponzio very good. I like Nacho more every time. Mora with a clutch penalty. Vamps carajo!