It’s apparently injury Sunday for Argentine players as a second casualty has fallen.
Augusto FERNANDEZ’s injury problems persist as he was substituted off on a stetcher for Atletico Madrid. The injury for Augusto appears to be in his right knee. It did not look good for FERNANDEZ.
FERNANDEZ, along with Lucas BIGLIA, is the second Argentine player to be substituted off due to an injury on Sunday.
The first injury for Argentina has already hit with the first victim being Lucas BIGLIA.
Lucas BIGLIA had to be substituted off 10 minutes into the first half for Lazio in their match against Empoli. The injury left BIGLIA in tears on the bench. The severity of BIGLIA’s injury is unknown but with World Cup Qualifiers just over a week away, it can’t be good for him.
Edgardo BAUZA loves to talk and it appears as if one of his latest comments has angered FC Barcelona.
Edgardo BAUZA took to the media to talk about Lionel MESSI’s latest injury. The Argentina National Team coach was not happy with Lionel MESSI being rushed back from injury and played by Barcelona. Here’s what he had to say:
“Barcelona sent us messages asking us to take care of MESSI. But it was them who didn’t take much care of him.”
Barcelona coach Luis ENRIQUE replied to BAUZA’s comments saying:
“The truth is that we all look out for MESSI’s well being along with the well being of every player at our club.”
Following those comments, the AFA released a statement apologizing to Barcelona about BAUZA’s comments. Armando PEREZ spoke to BARTOMEU (Barcelona president) stating “We have to have a good relationship with Barcelona”. Barcelona spokesman Josep VIVES came out and stated:
“The AFA has contacted Barça to express its apology for the comments made by the manager in relation to the injury of Leo MESSI. (Barça and the AFA) will work so that Leo MESSI recuperates as quickly as possible because, as Luis ENRIQUE said, ‘MESSI is a global ambassador for football.”
Personally speaking, if there is someone to blame for MESSI’s injury, I think it’s everyone involved. From Argentina to Barcelona to MESSI himself. Of course Barcelona are the one that pay his salary but in my opinion, I don’t think they have ever given him enough time to fully recover from his injuries.
The current leaders of Argentina’s Primera Division, Estudiantes de La Plata, are outsiders in many ways, yet sitting atop the first division standings is nothing new for the team from the capital of the Buenos Aires Province. In 1967, Estudiantes became the first club not only outside of the traditional “Big Five” (River Plate, Boca Juniors, Independiente, Racing, and San Lorenzo) to win the first division title, but the first club outside of the Greater Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area. They followed domestic success up with three consecutive Copa Libertadores crowns and the 1968 Intercontinental Cup against Manchester United.
Through the years Estudiantes has had varying successes and failures, but have always had a core group of players and managers who know the club inside out such as World Cup winning manager Carlos Bilardo, World Cup runner-up Alejandro Sabella, and playmaker Juan Sebastian Veron who led the club to Libertadores glory in 2009, 41 years after the club first one it with Veron’s father, Juan Ramon, as the star man.
This year’s version of Estudiantes may lack the big name of Juan Sebastian Veron on the, but there is a good group of youngsters coming through especially young midfielder Santiago Ascacibar. The 19 year old, who is a passing midfielder who operates from deep, was probably Argentina’s only decent performer during the Rio Olympics and has even managed to improve his form in the early going for Estudiantes this season. Also in the side is former River Plate midfielder Augusto Solari, the first cousin of Santiago Solari, who made a name for himself for River in Argentina before successful spell for Real Madrid and Inter. With former Catania and Napoli man Mariano Andujar in goal, the defense has a much needed bit of experience along with defender Jonathan Shunke. On Sunday, they play host to struggling Temperly, from the souther suburbs of Buenos Aires, with hopes of making it a perfect 12 of 12.
In close pursuit of the Estudiantes, come the tradition big sides, with River Plate just two points back. The giants from the neighborhood of Nuñez were in action Thursday night in the Copa Argentina against Arsenal, where they were 1-0 winners. On the score sheet was River’s star striker Lucas Alario, just this week proclaimed as the future of Argentina’s national team by coach Edgardo Bauza.
Even if manager Marcelo Gallardo has to rotate the squad with a quick Thursday-Sunday turnaround, River will feel good to their trip to face Defensa y Justicia and their big name new signing, Jonas Gutierrez, once one of the pillars of Diego Maradona’s Argentina squad at South Africa 2010, as long as Alario is in the side. The former Colon hitman now has 22 goals in 44 games for the Millionaires and seems to be improving with each passing game in terms of understanding and off the ball movement.
Also on seven points is San Lornezo, who like River, were in action Thursday night. Pope Francis’ team did come out winner, but will be vastly disappoint to allow an away goal and only manage a 2-1 victory over Venezuelan minnows La Guaira. The good news for the saints, was the continued great form of former Boca striker Nicolas Blandi, who found the winner, and Fernando Belluschi, formerly of River Plate, Porto and Genoa amounts other clubs, who scored the opener before assisting Blandi for the second. With a number of other players with European experience such as Sebastian Blanco, Tino Costa, and Gonzalo Bergessio to go along with Paraguay international Nestor Ortigoza, San Lorenzo is easily one of the most mature and experienced teams in the league and will like their chances, even away from home, to last places Patronato who have zero points thus far.
Also on Sunday, Boca Juniors plays hosts to Quilmes in La Bombonera after a long week of jostling over the schedule with Lanus. The two sides are set to face off in the Copa Argentina next Wednesday the 28th of September and Boca, who desperately wants to win the cup in order to qualify for next year’s Copa Libertadores, were unwilling to give Lanus the advantage of playing Saturday, hence receiving an extra day of rest. As it stands, both clubs will kick off Sunday at 6 PM Buenos Aires time.
Lanus President Nicolas Ruso mocked his Boca counterpart Daniel Angelici by saying Lanus’ match was set to kick off at 5:50 PM, but he didn’t want Boca to complain about 10 minutes and had his game pushed back to start at the same time as the Xeneizes.
The power of Boca, and the other big clubs for that matter, in the board room has long been an issue for the rest of Argentina’s top flight, and Lanus, the reigning league champions who also beat Boca on the opening day of this season, will feel hard done by. After all, it is Lanus supporters who have been forced to rearrange their weekend in order to appease Boca’s board who were afraid of losing an advantage by playing a day later.
As it is, Boca will still be without the suspended Carlos Tevez and the Barros Schellotto twins look to stick with the struggling Dario Benedetto up front as they must win to keep pace: they are already three points behind arch rivals River, and five behind Estudiantes.
Lanus is also on only four points, but they have already been knocked out of the Copa Sudamericana at the hands of Independiente. Now, with the likes of Jose Sand looking to get back into his scoring ways and Mexican international Jonny Magellon still waiting for his debut win the match in Cordoba against Belgrano, the granate will certainly have one eye on the Boca match next week, not just to settle the score after the midweek scheduling shenanigans, but to ease the pain of international cup failure with domestic cup success.
Throughout the years (more lie decades), there’s been a lot of Argentine players to make the switch over the Atlantic.
But a recent one has triggered Velez Sarsfield to report Manchester City to FIFA after the English club signed him at the age of 16 back in July. City signed GARRE (grandson of 1986 World Cup winner Oscar GARRE) but the Argentine club aren’t happy with the way it went down.
The rules laid out by FIFA over signing youth players prevent clubs from signing a player who is under the age of 16 (if they are outside of the EU). The situation appears to be that City are being accused of approaching GARRE when he was still 15, thus potentially breaking a FIFA rule. Velez Sarsfield president Raul GAMEZ had this to say (credit to quotes from The Telegraph):
“In Vélez, we defend values and we act in good faith. We are not interested in collecting €50,000 or €1,000,000 if said action is prohibited and may affect the player.”
“What is most important in these cases is the formation and development of the child, in a supportive environment, above economic or strictly sports interests. It is crazy to think that our youngsters can find themselves in a situation of vulnerability or abuse in a foreign country, without their family or somebody to protect them.”
“We consider Manchester City is a club that cannot violate the regulations of Fifa and even less act with bad faith. We are interested in protecting the child we have been educating since he was 11 and therefore, if necessary, we will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.”
Here are the three restrictions to the rule which would allow a club to sign a player under the age of 16:
-If a transfer is caused due to the players’ parents moving due to work reasons.
-If a transfer is to a club within 50km of the border of the country.
-If a transfer takes place within the European Union of a player over the age of 16.
GAMEZ stated: “None of these exceptions apply to Benjamín GARRE, who travelled to England without his parents.”
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