It’ll be a long summer from here till the next qualifier againt Paraguay on September 9th in Argentina. In the meantime, while we see what changes will come from the NT, we can see what will come of the end of the Clausura season, what Argie players will be shopped around during the off season, and of course the Beijing Olympics.

I look forward to all your input as always.

How likely is that? Well, both Colón and Olimpo are in or near the relegation zone, and River and Estudiantes, first and second in the table respectively, have certainly dropped points against “lesser” opposition this season. And with San Lorenzo just behind in third place, should both teams lose today, it would make for one hell of a final weekend.

The River – Olimpo match will be live on FSC and FSE at 3PM ET, with Estudiantes – Colón at the same time on TyC Sports.

In Santa Fe, things are not going well for River, down to 10 men against Colón, but fortunate to still be tied 0-0. Over in La Paternal, Estudiantes took an early lead off a Veron penalty, yet go into halftime even with Huracan, 1-1.

Meanwhile, San Lorenzo, who are in 3rd place behind the leaders on 31 points, will visit relegation-bound Olimpo, and Boca, in 4th and only 1 point behind San Lorenzo, will host Arsenal.

While I find Argentina’s second biggest clásico to usually be lacking in terms of football, there’s always a show in the terraces, and with the added pressure all on Racing, tomorrow’s fixture could be one to remember.

You can catch the game live this Saturday on TYC Sports USA at 1PM ET, or on various P2P sites. Here’s hoping for a good game, with

no violence

.

So with that in mind, I want to ask everyone here how you want this blog to approach this massive summer. This space has always been dictated by those who come here to read or leave comments, and I want you to choose how best to use this site to follow the games.

So what would people prefer – more original content from the writers (there are three of us technically), or more along the lines of what we do now, essentially fewer posts with more space for discussion in the comments? Live-blogging? More discussion on the podcast?

I do have one person who will be attending the game in New York against the USMNT who will act as a correspondent and give his personal thoughts (yes, I ripped it off from Ives’ blog). I’m still hoping to be in San Diego in time for the friendly against Mexico, so if anyone plans on going please let me know. Also, a few of you have mentioned about your own personal Argentina sites and Facebook groups – please post URL’s so I can keep a list.

While I wait to hear from everyone, please check out my post on The Offside main page on the Copa Libertadores, where I try ever so subtlety to suggest that it beats the boring-ass Champions League any day of the week.

Chau.

It’s a great day for football in the world, with decisive matches in Italy and Spain, but on this side of the ocean, all eyes will be on the Bombonera this afternoon for the Superclásico between Boca Juniors and River Plate, live on Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Sports Español at 2PM ET.

I obviously have my pick for who will win, but if I have to put on my objective hat, I would say that Boca have the slight advantage, playing at home and coming off a win in the Copa. River meanwhile have greatly improved since their start in the season, but they continue to leak goals. The squad that makes the fewest mistakes should grab the victory, but this could very well end in a draw.

Here’s hoping for a great game of football, free of violence. For a list of every result from a century of Superclásicos, click here (in Spanish).

Also, if you haven’t already, check out Mauro’s Libertadores site now on the Offside, and for an ultra-biased perspective, check out my River Plate page.

I know that the WC blog, despite the many comments left by you all, has been lacking in new content. It ain’t on purpose; a lot of us are just swamped with all the other duties of the site that unfortunately it’s hard to find the time. But like I’ve said before, as the seasons wind down we’ll spend more time devoted to the full slate of summer games ahead for the albiceleste.

Thanks for all your input on the site, and keep the comments coming.

What was supposed to be a great weekend for football ended in horror this past weekend, as clashes between supporters and police disrupted one match, and senseless violence claimed 2 innocent lives.

Saturday, 21 year old Emanuel Alvarez was murdered while on his way to see his club Vélez Sarsfield take on San Lorenzo at the Nuevo Gasometro. He was on route to the stadium in one of the 40 buses carrying fans, when at some point the group was ambushed and a gunshot went off, striking Emanuel directly in the heart. He was pronounced dead later at hospital.

As news of his death reached those waiting at the stadium, supporters became enraged, and began attempting to cut through the fence separating the terraces and the pitch, demanding that the game be called off. Chaos ensued, with police attempting to force back the angry crowd by firing off rubber bullets and dosing them with water hoses. Despite efforts from Vélez players to calm the crowd down, the referee chose to suspend the match instead.

Original reports claimed that the murder occurred when the traveling caravan of Vélez supporters passed a training ground belonging to rival club, Huracán. Now it appears that someone wearing a San Lorenzo jersey came across one of the buses carrying a gun. There is no indication that Emanuel was a barra brava, nor that he had any history of violent behavior.

The news came 24 hours after another fan died in Salta, prior to a match between Argentino B sides Gimnasia y Tiro and Central Norte. A 17 year old girl was struck by a bullet to the head while walking to the stadium with her boyfriend. It has not been confirmed if the bullet came from a rival group of fans.

Finally, Friday’s game between Gimnasia de Jujuy and Lanús was suspended Friday night after the local police could not provide adequate security for the match, although that was not due to crowd trouble.

Since the first incident in 1939, 224 deaths have occurred in Argentina as a result of violence in football. Today’s sad events are a testament to the violent history that lies beneath one of the great footballing nations of the world. Will authorities take the appropriate measures to assure this doesn’t happen again?

Lanús meanwhile suffered a humiliating defeat at home against Banfield. An interesting statistic – since the beginning of the Apertura/Clausura era, no team outside of Boca, River, or Vélez has gone on to win back to back titles. While there is still time for Lanús to make a run for the Clausura, they clearly have history working against them.

Friday
Racing 0 – 1 San Lorenzo
Rosario Central 0 – 0 Colón

Saturday
Lanús 0 – 5 Banfield
San Martín (SJ) 1 – 1 Gimnasia
Argentinos 1 – 1 Huracán
Tigre 2 – 0 Olimpo
Vélez 1 – 0 Newell`s

Sunday
Boca 1 – 1 Independiente
Arsenal 3 – 3 Gimnasia (J)
Estudiantes 0 – 0 River

Standings with Points

Vélez 13
Boca 11
Estudiantes 10
Arsenal 10
Tigre 9
River 8 (1 game in hand)
Huracán 8
Independiente 7
San Martín (SJ) 7
Newell`s 7
Banfield 6
Rosario Central 6
Lanús 6
San Lorenzo 6
Gimnasia 4
Colón 4
Olimpo 4
Argentinos 4
Gimnasia (J) 3
Racing 2

Though we’re still far off from seeing who will eventually challenge for the title, we are however getting a better sense of which teams are making a name for themselves. While Velez’s goalless draw against relegation-threatened Gimnasia (J) was a step back, they still maintain their lead on top of the table, tied with Boca Juniors, winning 1-0 over Gimnasia thanks to Martín Palermo’s 180th goal for los xeneizes, tying a club record.

San Lorenzo finally scored some goals on their way to a 3-1 victory over Estudiantes, with the team from La Plata producing another poor display after drawing 0-0 to Lanús in the Copa Libertadores last week. Racing’s misery continued in Rosario losing to Newell’s, and River Plate’s home match to San Martín (SJ) was called 9 minutes prior to the end due to a water-logged pitch, with los millonarios leading 3-2.

Click here to view all the goals from over the weekend.

Friday
Huracán 1-1 Central
Banfield 1-3 Arsenal

Saturday
Colón 1-2 Tigre
Gimnasia (J) 0-0 Vélez
Independiente 2-0 Argentinos
San Lorenzo 3-1 Estudiantes
Olimpo 3-2 Lanús

Sunday
Newell`s Old Boys 1-0 Racing
River Plate 3-2 San Martín (SJ)
Gimnasia 0-1 Boca