photo by Zweifüssler

• by Joe Curtis, writing from Miami, FL

Argentina's Football Association was planning to reorganize its league system which would increase the number of teams in the Primera Division from 20 to 38 for the 2012/13 season. AFA president Julio Humberto Grondona is the brain behind the proposal, and 15 of the 20 top-flight teams had voted to make the change. The new league would include clubs from Argentina's second-tier league, Nacional B Division, as well as the 2011/12 champions of third-tier leagues Torneo A Argentino and Primera B Metropolitana.

This reorganization means that River Plate will return to the top flight of Argentine football after their being relegated for the first time in their history last year to the second division. River Plate finished last season in 4th place with a record of 8-7-4, however, relegation from Argentine Primera División is not like that of the English Premier League, where the worst teams are relegated every season.

In Argentina, relegation is currently based on an averaging system. At the end of every season the two teams with the worst average record over the past three years are relegated, and the two with the best record over the past three years are promoted. The teams placed 17th and 18th in the average table play in a promotion/relegation playoff against the 4th and 3rd placed Primera B Nacional teams. River Plate did finish in 4th this season, but finished in 14th place last season, and finished 20th (last place) two years ago. That placed them at the bottom of the three year average, and in a playoff to star in the Primera División.

The new Primera División will be split into two zones of 19 teams. Rivals Boca Juniors and River Plate will play in separate zones, but like MLB' inter-league play there will be inter-zone matches. These matches will feature the Boca-River matches. The top five teams in each group will play in the Torneo Campeonato, which will crown the league's champion. The remaining 28 teams will play to avoid relegation.

The proposed league received heavy criticism from the media, claiming that this league was simply an attempt to promote River Plate to the Primera División as soon as possible. As a result the Argentine Football Association decided "to suspend consideration of the proposal" earlier this week.

AFA president Julio Grondona added: "The tournament won't change. The idea is suspended. I won't call to any assembly in October, November or December. I have no interest in any change. It will be the clubs who should take now any further step for making any change to the tournament - changes that they had been claiming for a long time."(1) The AFA also made statements putting the blame on the media for misleading the public into opposing the proposed league.

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sources: (1) espn.com

• by Allison Norris, writing from Taylorsville, Utah

Much was expected of the 2011 Copa America hosts, and perhaps a little too much pressure put on their shoulders. After two uneventful matches in the group stage, a 1-1 draw against Bolivia and a 0-0 tie against Colombia, Argentina finally gave a performance against Costa Rica that was worth talking about. All hopes of advancing in the Copa came to a climactic end Saturday night during the El Classico quarter-final with Uruguay.

With names like DiMaria, Higuain, Tevez and Messi, it seems a bit bizarre that Argentina didn’t glide through the group stage. The competition against Uruguay put the Albicelestes to the test. Argentina came out strong in the opening minutes, taking a chance toward goal right away with a pass from Sergio Aguero to Gonzalo Higuain. Diego Perez of Uruguay set the tone for the night when he wound up with a yellow card in the fifth minute for a tackle on Javier Mascherano.

Just when the crowd thought Argentina would have control of the opening minutes, a foul from Gabriel Milito gave Diego Forlán a chance for one of his deadly free-kicks, made famous in the 2010 World Cup. A bad clearance from the Argentine keeper sent the ball straight to Perez whose strike on the ball gave the Uruguayan his first international goal. Argentina’s Zabaleta would have the second yellow of the evening in the eighth minute.

Lionel Messi, who always has received heavy amounts of criticism for his performances while wearing the uniform of Argentina, spent the first half patrolling midfield in order to make those precise passes for which he and his club team, FC Barcelona, are so well known. He often tried to find Aguero waiting up top and their connection came close to putting it away a couple times. In the eighteenth minute, Messi received the ball out on the right flank and slid past his defender in order to send a mighty left-footed pass over the Uruguay defense. It was likely he could not see Higuain waiting at the far post, but the ball went straight to the striker’s head and into the back of the net. The match was now level and would stay that way for the rest of the ninety minutes.

There were many good chances for both sides. In the thirtieth minute, Messi again sent a free-kick up top to Higuain who sent in another header—almost identical to his previous goal—though it was ruled offside. Four minutes later at the other end, Forlán’s free-kick went to the head of Andres Scotti but it bounced off the post. Jose Martin Caceres sent in the rebound but was similarly called offside.

Just before half, Uruguay was becoming very physical in their defense. They picked up two more cautions. Perez gave one tackle too many and was shown a second yellow in the thirty-eighth minute, though it can’t have come as a surprise. Argentina tried to use their advantage and continued their strong attacks but to no avail before the half.

Uruguay was at a pretty low point coming back onto the field. Aguero was booked early in the half and Argentina seemed to be slowing down. Messi continued to drive the midfield and send the ball forward, but the Uruguay defense did their job. Argentina’s substitutions, including Javier Pastore for Angel DiMaria and Carlos Tevez for Aguero, seemed to say they would not relent in their attacking mindset. The game changed again in the eighty-sixth minute when Javier Mascherano, Argentina’s skipper, received his second yellow of the night, making it ten against ten.

Extra time provided many chances, but none of them fulfilled. Messi kept up his pace, picking up on those small plays in the way only he knows how, but his efforts always fell short. Toward the end of extra time, the little maestro got the ball in the box and it seemed he was three feet away from the line. The entire nation of Argentina probably gave a sigh of relief, but it was premature as the ball was deflected and Messi denied. Any other day, the game would have been won in that instant. Messi very dramatically fell face-down to the earth, obviously feeling the pain of what could have been a game-saving moment.

Still 1-1 at the end of extra time, penalties would decide the winner of the Copa America quarter-final match. Messi was given the captain’s band and took the first penalty for the team as though to get it out of the way. Argentina struck first and the anxiety began. Forlán put his away in the top of the net. Then came Burdisso and Suarez. All four had gone in so far. Tevez stepped up to the spot and Muslera, the Uruguay keeper, got a hand on the low-flying ball. The next three went in and it was 4-4 as Caceres took to the spot. Argentina’s chance of advancement was gone in an instant, as Uruguay celebrated one of their greatest victories in recent years.

Looking back, perhaps Argentina should be grateful for making it out of the group stage. Their performance against Costa Rica was promising and while the result against their rivals, the Uruguayans, was not desirable, it was a well-fought fight. Argentina was a strong side but lacked those final touches that put away goals. Forlán and his side were equal to the task of keeping Messi contained, first of all, and creating chances of their own. Finishing in fourth place last year in the World Cup is nothing to be laughed at after all. Perhaps it is not a great astonishment that Uruguay has advanced ahead of the competition’s hosts, though both teams proved equal in skill.

After this match, the criticisms of Lionel Messi appear unfounded. His role on Argentina is obviously different than that of Barcelona. It is usually the little moments that change the game, and those moments are where he excels. He still sees the game in the same way, still runs the same way and passes the ball in the same way only with different purposes. He makes a difference for Argentina even when he isn’t pointing to the sky in celebration of a goal. Unfortunately his style of play is too well know and therefore a target for the opposing side.

Uruguay will go on to play Peru in the semi-final, obviously as the favorites in that match-up. However, Peru’s advancement to the semi-final after beating their own rivals Colombia, 2-0, shows that all things are possible in this competition.

The game giveth and the game taketh away. Argentina was on the downside of this statement and though it is heartbreaking for a team who was expected to accomplish great things, the match was certainly an exhibition of all the skills present in South American teams. The game is always unpredictable and unforgiving, but if they didn’t like to face the consequences, they wouldn’t play.

Argentina cruised to a 3-0 victory over Costa Rica last night, led by Lionel Messi who assisted two of the three goals. Argentina, the host country and favorites to lift the Copa America, struggled in their first two games against Bolivia and Colombia. Both games ended in a draw, 1-1 and 0-0, respectively. Messi was the target of criticism following the Bolivia and Colombia game, but tonight everyone seemed to forget about the disappointing start to the tournament.

Argentina coach Sergio Batista changed up his line-up last night, benching Man City Captain Carlos Tevez and Ezequiel Lavezzi. In their place he started Gonzalo Higuaín and Sergio Agüero. Midfielder Angel Di Maria was also added to the starting line-up. The scoring opened up when Sergio Agüero tapped in a rebound in the 45th min. Lionel Messi had his way with Costa Rica's "B" team, easily setting up scoring chances. Gonzalo Higuaín, unfortunately, was unable to convert Messi's pin-point passing into goals. On two occasions he sailed the shot over the crossbar. Luckily for Argentina, Agüero and Di Maria were able to convert Messi's through balls into goals.

"Lionel knows how to overcome these situations, he has personality to overcome them and today he showed it on the field," Sergio Batista said. "He played a tremendous match."

Argentina joins Chile, Colombia, Venezuela, and Peru in the quarterfinals.

Argentina vs Bolivia.

Edivaldo Rojas Hermoza (47')
Sergio Agüero (75')

[photo via Tim Snell]

• by Joe Curtis, writing from Miami, FL

One of the two Argentine juggernauts, River Plate, will play in Argentina's second division next year after a 3-1 aggregate loss to Belgrano. Founded in 1901 and winners of 33 Argentine league titles, River Plate have played every season in the Argentine Primera División. River Plate's relegation is the equivalence of a Real Madrid or Barcelona relegation to Segunda División. A crowd of 50,000 watched the second leg of the relegation play-off today at River Plate's Monumental stadium. Fearing a riot after the 1-1 draw that sealed River Plate's fate Argentine authorities deployed about 2,200 police. Water cannons were used to control the crowd after the game. According to AOL Sporting News, about 43 people were injured in the mayhem following the game, some of them being police. Stadium seats were used by River Plate supporters as weapons. Half a dozen ambulances entered the stadium to work on the injured. The violence continued in the streets.

River Plate finished this season in 4th place with a record of 8-7-4, however, relegation from Argentine Primera División is not like that of the English Premier League, where the worst teams are relegated every season. In Argentina relegation is based on an averaging system. At the end of every season the two teams with the worst average record over the past three years are relegated, and the two with the best record over the past three years are promoted. The teams placed 17th and 18th in the average table play in a promotion/relegation playoff against the 4th and 3rd placed Primera B Nacional teams. River Plate did finish in 4th this season, but finished in 14th place last season, and finished 20th (last place) two years ago. That placed them at the bottom of the three year average, and in a playoff to star in the Primera División.

After losing the first leg 2-0, River Plate began the second with a Mariano Pavone goal to make it 2-1 on aggregate. Guillermo Farré would score the equaliser in the 62nd minute. Mariano Pavone would have the chance to tie it up from the penalty spot, but his shot was saved. River Plate would have stayed in the top flight of Argentine football if they had tied Belgrano on aggregate. Belgrano finished 4th in the Primera B Nacional.

On Saturday March 26th, in front of a New Meadowlands Stadium record 78,986 people, the USMNT faced #4 team in the World - Argentina. Coach Bob Bradley went with his beloved 4-5-1 formation. The Midfield Triangle of Bradley-Jones-Edu was the foundation. Not much was accomplished in the first half. It didn't look too good right from the start, four seconds Michael Bradley's pass sailed over Dempsey's head out of bounds. Argentina's front three Lionel Messi, Ezequiel Lavezzi, and Angel di Maria had their way with the US defense. Lionel Messi played like Lionel Messi and cut through the defense like a knife through butter. Then we have Tim Howard, who played like Tim Howard. He made a huge save in the 23 minute when a one-two pass freed Messi and put him one-on-one with Howard, who quickly swallowed up the ball.

There was not much offensive activity in the first half, the US struggled to get the ball up to Jozy. When they did manage to get him the ball there was no support. Jozy is good, but he is not going to be the type of guy to beat you one-on-one. Without support, nothing is going to happen. The reason why it was so hard to get the ball up to Jozy was because Mo Edu was playing arguably out of his position. Mo wasn't able to be the link between the back line and Jozy. He is more of a defensive midfielder than a attacking midfielder. He is not capable of being a box-to-box jack-of-all-trades. As a result the US was unable to get any rhythm going offensively.

Edu was needed for Bobby's great defensive triangle in the midfield, but all that defense doesn't really help offensively. Yes it could be possible that the injury to Stuart Holden left Bob Bradley no choice but to go with this triangle midfield, but it just doesn't work in my honest opinion.

Bob Bradley came to his senses at the start of the second half and subbed in Juan Agudelo for Jermaine Jones, moving the US into a 4-4-2. Jonathan Spector was also replaced by Timmy Chandler. Both substitutes made an instant impact. The US offense was now stringing together passes and creating more scoring chances than the first half. In the 58th minute a Landon Donovan freekick met the head of Carlos Bocanegra. Juan Agudelo then swooped in to put in the rebound and tie the game at 1-1.

Jozy on the USMNT's formations: "I think just for our team in general, whoever is playing up front, I think 4-4-2 we work better, but we've got to try different things, because I think we have a lot of very talented midfielders, so you've got to try and get everybody on the field."

Overall, I thought the US played well. First half was frustrating, and the midfield triangle made it difficult to create scoring chances. The triangle was able to tire Argentina, and with the addition of Juan Agudelo in the second half gave the US new life. Second half was very impressive, it looked like Argentina began to do everything they could to waste time and slow down the US attack after the Agudelo goal. It is exciting to see the young guys step up and make a difference in games. The future really does look bright, and when Charlie Davies gets back to 100% the US is going to look scary.

U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION

GOALKEEPERS (3)

• Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
• Tim Howard (Everton)
• David Yelldell (MSV Duisburg)

DEFENDERS (9)

• Carlos Bocanegra (Saint-Etienne)
• Jonathan Bornstein (UANL Tigres)
• imothy Chandler (FC Nürnberg)
• Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96)
• Jay DeMerit (Vancouver Whitecaps)
• Oguchi Onyewu (FC Twente)
• Tim Ream (New York Red Bulls)
• Jonathan Spector (West Ham United)
• Zak Whitbread (Norwich City)

MIDFIELDERS (9)

• Michael Bradley (Aston Villa)
• Clint Dempsey (Fulham)
• Mikkel Diskeruud (Stabaek)
• Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy)
• Maurice Edu (Rangers)
• Benny Feilhaber (AGF Aarhus)
• Stuart Holden (Bolton Wanderers)
• Jermaine Jones (Blackburn Rovers)
• Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht)

FORWARDS (3)

• Juan Agudelo (New York Red Bulls)
• Jozy Altidore (Bursaspor)
• Edson Buddle (FC Ingolstadt)

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ARGENTINA ROSTER BY POSITION

GOALKEEPERS (3)

• Mariano Andujar (Catania)
• Adrian Gabbarini (Independiente)
• Sergio Romero (AZ Alkmaar)

DEFENDERS (8)

• Javier Zanetti (Inter Milan)
• Pablo Zabaleta (Manchester City)
• Ezequiel Garay (Real Madrid)
• Gabriel Milito (Barcelona)
• Nicolas Otamendi (Porto)
• Federico Fazio (Sevilla)
• Nicolas Burdisso (Roma)
• Marcos Rojo (Spartak Moscow)

MIDFIELDERS (7)

• Javier Mascherano (Barcelona)
• Mario Bolatti (Internacional)
• Ever Banega (Valencia)
• Fernando Belluschi (Porto)
• Esteban Cambiasso (Inter Milan)
• Lucas Biglia (Anderlecht)
• Javier Pastore (Palermo)

FORWARDS (6)

• Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
• Ezequiel Lavezzi (Napoli)
• Angel Di Maria (Real Madrid)
• Nicolas Gaitan (Benfica)
• Jose Sosa (Napoli)
• Eduardo Salvio (Benfica)

• Video via Dirty Tackle

Man follows Messi as he walks to his taxi trying to get a picture....then his pants fall down.

[photo by sdhansay]

• by Matt Narvaez, writing from Florida

The international friendly matches that will be on TV tomorrow.

ESPN2 -  France Vs Brazil  - 3PM
This game is great matchup of two of soccer’s historic powerhouses. Both will be fielding top flight squads. Brazil will feature the likes of Pato and Robinho for AC Milan up front. Mid field will have EPL players Anderson, Lucas, Ramires, and Sandro. Dani Alves, David Luis, Marcelo, Rafael will be some of the stalwarts in the back. Mano Menezes will also have plenty of fire on the bench to draw from so this should be a formidable test for Les Bleus. The French side will have some familiar names on it. The big man Karim Benzema will have to show some of the form that has been missing this year during at Real Madrid. Also Guillaume Hoarau from PSG and Loic Remy from Marseille will be featured in the attack. Diaby and Malouda will be the big names in the middle of the pitch; while the back line might as well be known as gunners light with 3 players from the London squad called up to hold back the Brazilian onslaught. The French team has been playing well of late. After what was just a humiliating world cup new manager Laurent Blanc has more than righted the ship and well on their way to their rightful place in world football. Notable absences are Ronaldinho, Nelmar, Kaka, and Nilmar for Brazil. Ribery, Evera, Lass, and the internationaly retired Nicolas Anelka. Since this will be airing on the world wide leader plenty of people should have a chance to watch this great international match.

GolTV Argentina vs Portugal 3PM
If a matchup with 2 of the best footballers on the planet right now can’t get you excited I can’t help you. Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi will be squaring off in what has to be the glamour match of the day. German and Italian fans would argue that, but when the last two players that have received the Ballon d'Or are on the same pitch it makes for a special night. Add the fact they are neck and neck for the battle of the Pichichi, it’s definitely one not to be missed. They of course won’t be playing 1 v 1 and both of their nations teams will be fielding impressive squads. Messi will be joined by Milito, Lavezii, and Gaitan in the attacking half. Barcelona teammate and ex Liverpool player Mascherano will be roaming mid field with Inter star Cambiasso, Di Maria and Gago from Real Madrid, Pastore, and Sosa. The back will be anchored by Zanetti, Zabaleta, Milito, and Garay. The men from the Iberian Peninsula should certainly hold their own against the Argentines. Ronaldo will have the Red Devil’s Nani and Danny to send shots at the opposition goal. Manager Paulo Bento will hope Raul Meireles current great play with Liverpool will continue tomorrow. Bosingwa and Bruno Alves will be missing Real Madrid’s Pepe and Carvalho in the back, out due to injury. Hopefully the two main stars can play decent minutes and get an opportunity to display some of the brilliance that they have all year for their clubs.

Other Notable Matches:
Turkey Vs South Korea 1 PM
Denmark Vs England - 2:15 PM on ESPN3
Germany Vs Italy on ESPN3

by Chong Jit Leong

The 1998 World Cup was the first time I watched soccer. "Batistuta"was the name I kept hearing watching what I now know where games involving Argentina. Gabriel Batistuta spent the majority of his club career in Fiorentina (1991-200) and scored 168 goals for the club. On the international level he scored 56 goals and participated in three World Cups (1994,1998,2002). In 2004 Gabriel Batistuta was named in FIFA's 125 Greatest Living Footballer.