A huge way to go garoto goes out to Banfield for winning their first Argentinean League title in 113 years. El Taladro (The Drill) was founded in 1896. English, Irish, and Scottish immigrants founded the club.

Banfield is located 17 Kilometers south of the center of Buenos Aires. The club is named after Edward Banfield. He was general manager of the Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway from 1865-1892.

Banfield was given the nickname El Taladro (The Drill) by the newspaper El Pampero because the forwards on the futebol team drilled the rival defenses.

Please Bobby Gee enough of the history BS. I can dig it. But I thought you might like it.

Please check out my two fine sponsors of this crazy blog Sports Memorabilia and Luci Now Com-E Cigarettes.

I knew Boca Juniors would come out loaded for bear in their house the La Bombonera.  

This was Boca’s final match of the year. Pride was on the line for Boca Juniors. Lets be really honest Boca was having a crappy year. Los Xeneizes were play like dung. Yes, it was that bad.

Martin Palermo had the daily double for the Genoese. Palermo took it to the rack and was pulled down in the box. Wham. Bam. PK in the 8^th minute and Boca were up 1-0.

Palermo fired a wicked strike that ripped the twines in the 61^st minute to seal the deal for Boca.

Newell’s Old Boys were hoping for this result. Los Leprosos (The Leapers) now had the opportunity to steal the crown. No way Jose. Newell’s lost to San Lorenzo 2-0. You can kiss the title bye-bye.

El Taladro needed a little bit of luck to win the title. Banfield was locked in scoreless draw with bottom feeder Tigre. Then Bam. Shot. Score. Victor Lopez nails the header in the 85^th minute. Game over. El Taladro escaped with a 1-0 win. Hello championship.

Both Boca and River Plate struggled throughout the season. Struggled is a huge understatement. Both teams stunk the joint out. The players should be quartered and shot at dusk for horrible play.

Boca finished in eleventh place with 27 points. River wound up in 13^th place with 21 points. ‘

Both Boca and River are two of the most famous and storied clubs in Argentina futebol history.

Boca has won 24 league titles.

Boca’s last title came with the Genoese won the Apertura in 2008.

Since then, the Los Xeneizes have bombed out of the Copa Libertadores, the Clausura, and the 2009 Apertura.

River Plate has won 33 titles in their 108-year history. The Los Millonarios name came about when River Plate bought two players from rival Argentinean futebol clubs in 1931 and 1932. River secured the services of Carlos Peucelle from Sportivo Buenos and Tigre’s Bernabe Ferreyra.   

To get under the skin of a River Plates fan call them River Gallinas and see what happens.

The EPL has some huge matches coming up on Tuesday and Wednesday. We’ll talk about them when the results come in.

Manchester United battles bottom feeder Wolves on Tuesday. Aston Villa has a hot date with Sunderland.

On Wednesday, Arsenal battles Burnley and Chelsea take on Portsmouth.

Ah yes, fun in the sun with the EPL.

www.palau.org

http://www2.hillsong.com/tv/home.asp

http://www.bolaradio.com.br/

Argentina’s football championship has come up with a few surprise champions in the last few years (e.g. Estudiantes in 2006, Lanus in 2008) but the latest champion Banfield are probably the biggest surprise of them all. On the final game of Argentina’s “Apertura” (Opening) Championship they were defeated 2-0 away at Boca Juniors but this turned out not to be so tragic as, at the same time, their nearest title challengers Newell’s Old Boys were succumbing to the same scoreline at home to San Lorenzo.

On a dramatic final day in the “Apertura” (not to be confused with the “Clausura” or “Closing” championship that makes up the second half of the season) Banfield went to cross city rivals Boca knowing that a win would make them champion and a draw would at least guarantee a play-off for the title in the event of a Newell’s win in Rosario (in Argentina play-offs decide the destination of the title in the event of a tie on points between two or more teams). If Banfield lost then a Newell’s win would mean the championship going back to Rosario since their last title win in 2004.

After six minutes of the first half there were cheers around Boca’s home stadium, La Bombonera, when Banfield fans heard the news that Newell’s were 1-0 down thanks to a goal from San Lorenzo’s Fabian Bordagaray. At almost that exact moment Boca won a penalty kick which Martin Palermo dispatched with great aplomb to make it 1-0 and to stun the legions of Green and White fans who had been cheering only seconds earlier. Both games ended 1-0 at half-time and the second half would progressively get more nervous for the title contenders.

Sixteen minutes into the second half at La Bombonera saw Boca Juniors double their lead thanks to a close range strike from Martin Palermo. This goal had the fans of Banfield holding their heads in their hands in disbelief. Were their title chances going up in smoke before them? Thankfully, for Banfield, they heard more cheers nearly ten minutes later after news filtered through of a second goal for San Lorenzo. Fabian Bordagaray, like Martin Palermo, had scored his second goal of the afternoon and would become a hero for Banfield fans everywhere. This news allowed both Boca and Banfield to take their foot off the gas and see out the game. Whilst those Banfield fans lucky enough to get a ticket were getting the party started at La Bombonera there were even bigger celebrations at Banfield’s home stadium where thousands of supporters had been let in to the stadium to watch the game on a big screen.

With both games finishing in 2-0 defeats for the title contenders it was Banfield that secured the title, the very first league championship success in the club’s history, with 41 points from 19 games, Newell’s Old Boys two behind on 39 whilst Colón Santa Fe, Independiente and Velez Sarsfield all had 34 points. Banfield qualify for the 2010 Copa Libertadores along with the 2009 Clausura champions Velez, the reigning Libertadores champions Estudiantes de la Plata and the three teams who had the best points average in the Clausura and Apertura tournaments in 2009 (Lanus, Colón and Newell’s). Relegation matters will be decided after the conclusion of the 2010 Clausura championship.

Arsenal righted their ship while Liverpool’s ship is taking on so much water it is about to sink. You can almost stick a fork in Liverpool’s season after the Reds were defeated in their house Anfield by Arsenal 2-1.

Liverpool played a very strong first half. Dirk Kuyt ripped the rebound winner in the 41^st minute to give Liverpool a 1-0 lead.

Aurelio hit a great free kick into the box. Lucas fired a header that was blocked by Arsenal keeper Almunia. The ball comes bounding out. Shot. Save. Rebound. Header. Goal.

The second half was a different story. The Gunners came out breathing fire. Arsenal played like their lives were dependant upon them winning.

It was.

Then wham bam thank you madam the match was spun around and changed on its head.

Nasri fired a great crossing ball into the box.  Whamo. The ball goes flying off of Reds defender Jamie Carragher. Liverpool’s Glen Johnson is cemented to the spot. Bing. Bam. Boom. The ball ricochets off Johnson and into the Reds net to tie this baby up at one all in the 50^th minute

Eight minutes later, 58^th minute, Liverpool’s Glen Johnson was once again the main ingredient in the Gunners second goal. Fabregas fired a wicked cross into the box. Reds defender Glen Johnson failed to make a play on the ball. Johnson gave Arsenal attacker Andre Arshavin a free play on the ball.

Arshavin took the gift. He quickly turned. Arshavin fired. Goal. 2-1 Gunners and this was all she wrote.

The fat lady sang.

Now you can say Voce Vai Liverpool for your season is surely cooked and burnt to a crisp.

This  was the Reds six loss for the season.

Liverpool’s only hope to save their sorry year is that if the top clubs Chelsea, Manchester United, and Arsenal fall apart and lose their next four matches.

Stranger things have happened.

Do you remember what I said about Aston Villa and Manchester United? 

I do have ESPN, I mean ESP.

They way it stands right now. Chelsea is the top dog with 37 points. The Red Devils are in second place with 34 points. Arsenal is in third position with 31 points. Villa is in fourth place with 29 points.

www.palau.org

http://www2.hillsong.com/tv/home.asp

http://www.bolaradio.com.br/

This is really a strange day. I don’t have my beloved Flamengo to write about. I am lost.

I am lost with nothing to do or write about.

This is really strange but I will get over it.

So, lets talk about the Argentina Apertura. I haven’t written or spoken about Argentinos futebol in a long time.

This is the final week of the Apertura. It comes down to one match and winner takes all. Banfield battles hated rival Boca Juniors. All Banfield has to do is beat eleventh place Boca and the title is theirs. If Banfield wins this will be their first title in 113 years.

Banfield scored a last second goal by Victor Lopez to beat bottom feeder Tigre 1-0 to set up the drama this Sunday December 13^th.

Second place, Newell’s Old Boys defeated Gimnasia La Plata 1-0 on Wednesday night to keep the title out of Banfield’s eager waiting paws.

So, this is the deal.

Banfield leads Newell’s by two points. Banfield has 41 points while Newell’s has 39 points.

Newell’s battles San Lorenzo.

Newell’s can win the title out right if Banfield losses and Newell’s Old Boy wins or if Banfield ties with Boca and Newell’s wins by three or more goals.

All Banfield has to do is win baby.

That’s it.

I am pulling for Banfield to win. I like the dog to win it all.

Why?

Banfield has zippo nothing nada in 113 years playing in both the Apertura and Clausura.

It is about time Banfield wins some hardware for their effort.

The Banfield-Boca match will be played in Boca’s house Estadio Alberto J Armando or better know as the Lá Bombonera or the chocolate box.

This is one of the hardest places for a visiting team to play in the world.

The Boca fans or as they are called Los xeneizos or the Genoese will jump up and down in the stands so that will be life a living hell for the opposition. The Chocolate box will vibrate as if an earthquake is happening while the match is being played on the pitch.

Boca is buried in eleventh place so I have this sneaky suspicion that the Los xeneizos will be loaded for bear in an attempt to stop Banfield from winning the first title in 113 years.

www.palau.org

http://www2.hillsong.com/tv/home.asp

http://www.bolaradio.com.br/

[w+] Das erste Video zeigt das Abschlusstraining von Newells Old Boys…

…und das zweite zeigt Impressionen vom Spiel selber.

Grüße gehen an dieser Stelle an den Knochenmann raus!

O River Plate foi a Mendoza enfrentar o Godoy Cruz e teve todas as chances possíveis e imagináveis para vencer, mas mais uma vez, demonstrando instabilidade durante a partida e graves falhas de marcação, a equipe de Leo Astrada conseguiu apenas um empate por 1 a 1. O gol do time da capital foi marcado por Rosales, enquanto Ariel Rojas empatou.

O River com Astrada melhorou muito mas continua sofrendo com a falta de regularidade. O time vai muito bem do meio pra frente mas na defesa é um caos. Apesar disso, a evolução é evidente. O lado político do clube parece influenciar também. O ex-jogador, ex-treinador e ex-capitão do time Daniel Passarella é candidato a presidente do clube nas eleições a serem realizadas no próximo mês e já deixou claro que trará de volta ao clube Ramon Díaz, grande ídolo Millonário. Obviamente o ambiente fica complicado para qualquer treinador trabalhar sob essas circunstâncias. Os jogadores vivem também uma incerteza diaria e isso também afeta o desempenho do time. Há muito o que ser feito no River.

Já o Boca aproveitou a fragilidade do quase rebaixado Gimnasia La Plata e goleou por 4 a 0 com dois gols de Insua, um de Gaitán e um de Medel. O time até jogou bem e foi muito mais agressivo do que outrora vinha sendo, mas não precisou fazer muito pra vencer com tranquilidade. Uma grande partida mesmo quem fez foi Insua. Muito mais do que os dois gols, foi uma exibição de gala.

Essa semana, o Boca ficou marcado pelos desentendimentos. Palermo reclamou que a bola não chega até ele. Mouche pediu pra entrar para ajudar na criação, já que Riquelme está machucado. E Ibarra, apagando fogo com gasolina, disse que os jogadores mais experientes tem que ser mais inteligentes ao dar entrevistas. Palermo retrucou que já é bem grande pra que digam o que ele deve falar. O Boca também tem problemas políticos, já que Basile e Bianchi não falam o mesmo idioma, o que acaba dividindo os dirigentes do clube. Uns apoiam Bianchi e outros não abrem mão de Basile. A união parece cada dia mais distante na Casa Amarilla.

De interessante nesta rodada tivemos também o clássico de Rosário entre Central e Newell’s. O Rosário chegou a abrir dois a zero mas permitiu o empate. Todos os gols aconteceram no primeiro tempo. Com o resultado, o Newell’s não pode assumir a liderança e ficou a dois pontos do Banfield, que venceu o Independiente fora de casa por 2 a 1.

A classificação do Apertura ficou assim, faltando quatro rodadas:

Banfield 35

Newell’s 33

Estudiantes 29

Colón 28

Independiente 26

Rosario Central 26

San Lorenzo 26

Velez 24

Boca 23

Lanus 21

A classificação geral, para a classificação a Copa Libertadores (soma de todos os pontos conquistados no ano) ficou assim:

Velez (classificado) 64

Colón 62

Lanus 59

Banfield 58

Estudiantes (classificado) 58

Rosário 55

Newell’s 54

San Lorenzo 50

Huracán 48

Independiente 47

Boca 45