Argie Bargy

Argentina strike gold

Daniel Neilson — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 12:00:00 GMT

Argentina's Olympic squad retained their gold medal in a close encounter with Nigeria.

Beating the African rivals 1-0, Argentina finished off a convincing campaign that saw them fend off fierce rivals Brazil in the quarter-finals. The Brazilians left Beijing with the bronze, and bitterly disappointed with that after what has been a nightmare year for their team.

Di Maria seals gold for Argentina

Argentina, however, seem to have broken their run of losing in the finals of major tournaments and proved that the largely under-23 team can confidently continue the country's class and skill.

As for the elder statesmen, Messi had a good tournament after all the issues of getting Barca to free him. Coach Sergio Batista called him the 'Maradona of the 21st century' and sees him as a future captain of his country.

Riquelme (pictured, below) led well from deep in midfield, but he will now be looking forward to returning to his homeland as Boca's top goalscorer, Palermo, is out for the rest of the season with a bad knee injury.

"What's that Ronnie? You only won bronze?"

But the focus of Argentina has been its successful Olympic run, not only with the men's football, but also a bronze for the Leonas female field hockey and a bronze for the men's basketball team.

Congratulations Argentina. After all the chaos on the streets and in the government, this winter has just got slightly warmer.

Derby day in BA

Daniel Neilson — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 08:00:00 GMT

In the August 2008 issue of FourFourTwo magazine, Argie Bargy reported on the intense rivalry between Independiente and Racing.

At the end of last season Racing were a goal away from being relegated, but survived to live on in the Primera. They are, after all, one of Argentina's most supported clubs, fourth after their arch enemy Independiente.

Both teams are based in the poverty stricken Avallaneda neighbourhood of the city which is split by support for either team.

As Independiente struggle to make an impact at the top of the league, Racing are still fighting for survival; staying up was merely the beginning of their campaign.

Independiente vs Racing: Never a dull affair

Beset by boardroom wrangles and severe financial straits (many players are owed money) Racing, under the leadership of the ever positive Juan Manuel Llop, need a relegation worry-free season, and a win over Independiente would do wonders for team morale.

One interesting footnote will be the reception of Hilario Navarro in Independiente's red jersey. Last season he appeared in Racing's blue and white and played a significant part in keeping them in the first division.

Racing have lost both of their first two games, while Independiente have four points from their two matches.

Meanwhile in Beijing, as the men's football team warm up for Saturday's final against Nigeria, the women's hockey team - known as the lionesses - have won a proud bronze for their efforts, despite an overall performance which lacked their usual bite.

Argentina one win away from more Olympic glory

Daniel Neilson — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 11:30:00 GMT

In Argentina there is only one thing that is sweeter than beating England... thrashing Brazil.

Long the poorer siblings to the Brazilian behemoth, Argentina finally got one over their bitter rivals with a glorious 3-0 win in the Beijing Olympics semi-final on Tuesday.

It was the first time they had beaten Brazil since June 2005, earning the mostly under-23 team a place in the final and the chance to defend the gold medal won in Athens four years ago against Nigeria on Saturday.

Aguero chests home the opener

During the first half the Brazilians focussed on Riquelme's midfield importance, scuppering any chance of the ball getting through to Messi and Aguero up front.

And there were several close shaves for Dunga's side whilst the Argentines created little, with only a stunning solo effort from eventual man-of-the-match Aguero just going wide.

But the second half proved to be their moment of glory. The appearance of Mascherano and Gogo relieved the pressure on Riquelme and opened up the game. Aguero put the Argentines ahead after the ball ricocheted in off his chest. And seven minutes later 'el Kun' – named for his similarity to a Japanese cartoon character – netted again from a poorly defended cross.

The third goal came from a Riquelme penalty after a dubious foul from Breno.

Riquelme scores third from the spot

More than a win over the hated enemy, it was a relief to see what the younger members of the squad could bring to what has been a poorly performing senior side in recent times.

But they will be mindful of recent defeats at the final hurdle, with the national 'seleccion' having lost three major finals - twice in the Copa America and in the Copa Confederaciones - all in the last three years.

Olympic run goes on while domestic season gets going

Daniel Neilson — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 16:00:00 GMT

Another game, another win for the Argentine Olympic squad and with it qualification to the next round.

The game could easily be picked apart and was, again, far from convincing, but it was an overall solid performance in amongst a series of pretty wobbly displays, from Brazil included.

Messi, who is quickly becoming 'God Mark II' in the bars of Buenos Aires, admitted they played "in a slow rhythm."

He may have been talking about his own pedestrian performance, or the team who left it until 15 minutes before the end to look cohesive, when Riquelme and Messi combined to put through Ezequiel Lavezzi to score the only game of the match.

It was, however, a blinder with an amazing build up and perfect finish, showing how Argentina loves to play their football: with exuberant style.

Lavezzi side-foots home vs Australia

The team now play Serbia in their last league game, but they are already qualified. Riquelme, Messi, Mascherano and Aguero (on a yellow card) will all be rested.

But the second team should not fret, because over in Argentina the domestic season has finally got underway with Boca grabbing the headlines with a stunning 4-0 victory over Gimnasia de Jujuy.

Their team included several players who were previously in the reserve squad, but who had beaten the first team in training sessions twice that week.

Palacio, who remained with Boca despite being expected to head off along with the pre-season exodus, is injured but should return for Wednesday's ReCopa match.

Boca's Gracian and Ibarra celebrate vs Gimnasia

Other results:

San Martin 2–0 Huracan

Gimnasia 0–1 Newells Old Boys

Arsenal 3–0 Argentinos

Central 3–2 Estudiantes

Banfield 1–2 Godoy Cruz

Velez 0–0 Independiente

Colon 1–1 River

Racing 0–2 Lanus

San Lorenzo 0-1 Tigre

Bittersweet start for Argentinian Olympic teams

Daniel Neilson — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 22:07:00 GMT

Stood amongst the spectacular fireworks of the Olympic opening ceremony was one Lionel Messi.

After weeks of wrangling that involved FIFA, the highest levels of the clubs and a sports arbitration board, Barcelona finally let Messi play.

In their opening game, before the ceremony, Argentina beat the Ivory Coast 2-1. Defending their gold medal, Argentina showed more cohesion than in many of their recent games, thanks largely to Riquelme's intelligent leadership.

Messi bags opener vs Ivory Coast

However, the women's team fared worse, losing to Canada in the first sporting event of the Games.

But the Argentine's have plenty to look forward to: swimmer Georgina Bardach won the bronze four years ago, Miguel Albarrcin is looking of his first Olympic medal in judo and long-distant cyclists Matías Medici, Alejandro Borrajo and Juan José Haedo will be charging 245 km around the streets of Beijing hoping for a podium place.

The best bet's for Argentina gold medals, apart from the men's football squad, are with the basketball team led by, star of NBA's San Antonio Spurs, Emanuel Ginobili, who carried the flag into the arena.

But no one, particularly Argie Bargy, can forget Las Leonas' female field hockey team.

There are 139 Argentines at the Games hoping to beat the two gold medals they won in Athens.

Messi mess continues to wrangle on

Daniel Neilson — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 09:00:00 GMT

With Argentina making their final preparations for the opening game against the Ivory Coast in the Olympics, the wrangle of Messi shows no sign of abating.

Barcelona at first refused to allow the forward to play as one of the few over 23 players allowed in the Olympic squad, but on FIFA's advice let the player travel to China.

Messi trains ahead of Olympic opener vs Ivory Coast

The 'flea' is currently in Beijing and training with the squad but the sports tribunal at the centre of the fight have now said Barcelona has 'no obligation to free the player.'

The reason is that the Olympics doesn't figure in FIFA's calendar and therefore has no right to demand the player be freed. AFA president Julio Grondona told the press "Messi will stay and play in Beijing" and the national Olympic coach added "tomorrow he will be playing against the Ivory Coast."

With less than 24 hours until their opening game it looks unlikely that Messi will be returning, and Argie Bargy, for one, thinks that he should be there.

Relief for Argentina as Messi boards for Beijing

Daniel Neilson — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 10:48:00 GMT

Did you feel that slight breeze at around 2pm yesterday?

That was the collective sigh of relief from 35 million Argentinians as Lionel Messi was freed by Barcelona for the national Olympic squad. Slight exaggeration? Well yes, but there can't be a man, woman or dog in the country that isn't pleased to see Argentina's new prodigal son in the team.

Argentina in recent World Cup qualifiers and friendlies have been lacklustre, even with Messi. But the Barça player adds a touch of flair, bordering on the genius. His sidekick Aguero is undoubtedly a great player, but has failed to skip past defences in the way Messi can.

Bye bye Barca: Messi departs for Olympics

Fortunately, their rivals, and fellow favourites in the gold medal betting stakes, Brazil have been even worse. Utter failures in World Cup qualifying (they lost against Venezuela for Ronaldo's sake), Brazil are a merely a group of 11 good players without any coherence.

With only eight days until the opening ceremony - which given the heritage of vast displays in China might actually be worth watching for the first hour - coach Checho Batista's team still remain joint favourites.

It all kicks off next Thursday as they take on the Ivory Coast.

Stormy start for Olympic favourites

Daniel Neilson — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 11:30:00 GMT

While the weather may have disrupted the first Argentinian friendly warm up in Tokyo yesterday, the storm continues over Lionel 'the Flea' Messi.

The ongoing dispute between Barcelona and the AFA has got so out of hand that FIFA have been brought in to mediate.

The nation hopes that Messi, still training in Spain, will be able to help Argentina keep the Olympic gold. The win, although paling against a World Cup, is still taken seriously by an Argentinian populace looking for respite from the problems that have dogged their 'winter of discontent', that has seen daily protests, food shortages and rampant inflation. Messi is revered in the country (and by Argie Bargy).

The Argentinians failed to shine in their friendly against Japan despite a skillful goal by Angel di Maria.

Angel di Maria celebrates in the rain against Japan

Both Argentina and Japan hit the post in what was a worryingly close game. A fortunate storm led to the game being suspended seven minutes before the final whistle. Overall it was a reasonable game for the blue and whites, but without the genius of Messi, it seems they might have to work harder to retain their favourite status.

Argentina's group is far from easy with Serbia, Australia and the Ivory Coast, each of whom can be tricky opponents.

Do Argentine players have illegal passports?

Daniel Neilson — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 11:42:00 GMT

When this blogger lived in Argentina in 2001, the rush for European passports was immense.

As the country teetered on the brink of collapse – which came, sure enough – hundreds of thousands of residents looked up their past in an attempt to find a way to attain European passports. Most Argentines (around 60 per cent) are from Italian descent and about 30 per cent are of Spanish origin.

These days the living isn't exactly easy, but it is better. But as protests continually bring the city to a halt the exudos has sped up again.

And it seems footballers are no different.

Dozens of Argentine players are among those being investigated for travelling to Italy on illegal passports, according to a BBC report. The report suggests the reason for footballers buying illegal passports is so that Italian clubs can avoid the limit of non-European players on their team. This does, of course, implicate the clubs. However, they can earn much more money in Europe.

Juan Veron: Investigated for dodgy passport dealings in 2002

Argentinian judge Norberto Oyarbide started the investigation after staff in the Italian Embassy didn't recognise the signature on the passports.

Apparently an illegal passport can be bought in a few days for US$30,000, while the process of getting a real one can last for months. Also the ever-tightening rules mean that only those with close ancestors born in Italy are eligible.

It is also being reported that many of the passports claim the players' ancestors were all born in Fagnano Castello. Current population? 4,194.

Call me a cynic, but...

Mass protests and chaos hit crazy Argentina

Daniel Neilson — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 17:00:00 GMT

Well this blog might not have too much to do with football, but what is happening in Argentina today is quite unlike anything I have ever seen.

My office is located on a wide Parisian avenue that connects the Congress building and, 15 blocks away, the Casa Rosada presidential palace. Outside there are an estimated 60,000 people beating drums, screaming chants and letting off crackers and bombs. I literally cannot hear myself type.

Now understanding Argentinian politics is somewhat akin to comprehending nuclear physics. So why all the noise and protests? Well get this... the thousands of people outside are showing their support for the government. Confused? You will be. 50 blocks north, near my house, there are another 50,000 people, protesting against the government.

Protesters take to the streets in Buenos Aires

It is all over a debate that has utterly polarised Argentinian society. The root of the problem is the dear old Presidenta Christina Kirschner and her decision to whack a huge tax on soya. Less than five years ago, soya was seen as the saviour of the Argentinian economy. It is easy to grow, and much more profitable than beef, the second largest export.

Apparently, to redirect the exported crop to an Argentinian market food in a country where children still die from starvation, the export tax is high. The 'countryside', who even in the UK get off their tractors for a good protest, went crazy. They went on strike. And to understand the repercussion of such a strike one just has to look at inflation (unofficially thought to be around 35% - officially around 9%) of food prices. And you thought Gordon Brown had problems. Perhaps more importantly, Argentina couldn't get its beef.

So on the day of the final senate vote, half the country came out in support and the other half against. But support Argentinian-style means NOISE.

And since I started this blog, it has got even louder, the entire city has been cut off, public transport has come to a standstill, and many people are leaving work. A few days ago a much smaller protest (or was it in support) ended in a riot. Here we hope that the tens of thousands of angry people separated by utterly different ideologies and a mere 50 blocks don't meet.

Farmers gather en masse in Rosario

But on the plus side, everyone out there is thinking about politics, and what does it take for this amount of people to stand up in the UK?

Bloody fox hunting.

Chaos reigns on the streets of Buenos Aires, and will do long into the evening. But by tomorrow a decision by the senate will be made to either approve or disapprove the tax. And no matter which way it goes, it will only exacerbate the problem.

How do I bring this back to football? Well, all those drums and trumpets are being played by hired football fans and barra bravas, some being brought in from more than 2000 miles away especially to bang their drum.

All seater stadiums? Never!

Daniel Neilson — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 13:15:00 GMT

Can you remember how incensed you were when all-seater stadiums became law?

"It's going to lose the atmosphere of the terrace!" they shouted. And well, I think it has. So as FIFA demand that Argentina's Primera clubs do likewise, the same complaints are being heard.

In fact, it should have happened a year ago. The clubs, in true Argentinian style, have merely ignored them. But after the horrendous terrace violence of last season the big clubs are beginning, slowly, to increase the percentage.

Will it kill the unique atmosphere of an Argentinian football game? Well, at least it will give away fans more ammunition to rip up and throw. But it did partly work in stemming UK violence and to be frank they have to try anything here.

Boca fans in their season-ticket spots at La Bombonera

FIFA are asking that 90 per cent of stadiums are seated by, erm, August 8 – the other 10 per cent? Well that's for the barra bravas of course (can anyone else see a flaw in the plan?)

River Plate need to add another 4,500 seats to comply with the rules. San Lorenzo? 8,000. And Boca Juniors a whopping 12,000 seats. Boca have the most difficult problem. Their tiny stadium is already built up vertiginously high, and they are already well over capacity at most games.

There has been talk for years about moving the stadium, but it is a massively unpopular idea and no president has been brave enough to push it through – especially remembering that the presidents are voted in by the fans, strong armed by the barra brava.

For the time being, it looks as though the terrace atmosphere will remain. And for the violence? We'll know when the season starts on
August 8.

Defending Olympic dreams

Daniel Neilson — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 11:29:00 GMT

So now we are in the off-season and have six weeks to enjoy idle gossip about transfers until the first game of the new season on August 8.

Thankfully, this blog won't be filled with such meaningless tattle (well it will, but I'm making a point), because in only 35 days we have the Beijing Olympics.

The Argentina Olympic squad that will defend a gold medal has been selected. It may not hold quite the same prestige as the World Cup - especially not for British teams which can't compete - but it is a source of pride nevertheless for a recently underachieving Argentina team.

Rules dictate the squad has to be mainly made up of players under the age of 23, with a handful of older members allowed. The big name is, of course, Lionel Messi, who Argie Bargy recently watched in a homecoming national game and would like to confirm his status as a footballing genius.

Messi wows FourFourTwo's correspondant against Ecuador

Maybe more surprising, given his slated performances in the World Cup qualifiers, is the presence Roman Riquelme, at 30-years-old the eldest of the squad. But his commanding position at Boca is undeniable, even though Palermo may wear Boca captain's armband. Javier Mascherano, 24, is also included as is Inter defender Nicolas Burdisso at 27.

Several clubs have withheld players (Demichelis, Milito and Coloccini, for example) but squad manager Sergio Batista can be confident with the 18 he has selected. Sergio Agüero, paired with Messi in the World Cup qualifiers, is likely to continue up front.

As ever, very few of the players selected actually play in Argentina, namely Riqueleme at Boca, Buonanette at River (although he is likely to head north) and Fabian Monzon, Boca's excellent defender.

Expect a tantalising performance from the football team but, I'm going to be honest, not quite as sumptuous as Las Leonas, Argentina's women's field hockey squad.

See them here

And here

OK that's enough... probably

Racing live to fight another day

Daniel Neilson — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 17:04:00 GMT

Well all the praying to the virgin and various other, slightly non-authorised saints seems to have worked as Racing stayed in the Primera thanks to a horrendous miss by Belgrano.

Not that anything should be taken away from a gallant Racing. In front of a sold out Juan Domingo Perón stadium Racing were under enormous pressure. They needed a draw, but a great goal after 10 minutes by Maxi Moralez put them ahead. And this is why you
should never stand on the terrace in Argentina - just look at the surge from the crowd when the goal arrives.

Belgrano's Claudio Bustos managed to round the keeper in the second half but somehow tripped over the ball. And on 90-minutes the cafes of
Buenos Aires were packed with football fans awaiting the result. They might not have been fans, but as Racing are one of the largest teams in Argentina, everyone seems to be following their progress.

In fact it knocked Spain vs Germany off almost every screen in the city.

So after a fraught weekend of finals, the next season of Argentine football will take pretty much the same shape as the last one. The only difference is that Los Andes will take the place of San Martin.

The real question, though, is if Racing have it in them to stay up again next season.

Prayers, playoffs and playstations

Daniel Neilson — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 10:32:00 GMT

"I've been hassling the Virgin Mary a lot," Racing's manager Juan Llop told the press before the first leg of the playoffs to determine whether his side stays up.

24 later Llop was back on his knees and crossing himself after a draw against Primera Divison hopefuls Belgrano. The agony for Racing fans prolonged after a late equaliser.

Racing must now win on Sunday if they are to stay up. As the third most supported team in Buenos Aires it is almost unthinkable that they have reached this position, but they have done once before in 1983.

They only remained in the 'B' for a season but it is still something that haunts the perennial underachievers.

The team is now in the hands of the receivers after a disastrous tenure of Blancquiceleste. And they haven't won away all season.

The bottom two teams of the Primera play the top two teams of the 'B', with the winners staying/going up and vice versa. Fighting in the other playoff is Gimnasia and B team Union who also drew the first leg.

Racing players have said in the past that they say a little prayer to whoever they believe is listening. The receivers of the club also offered an incentive to win the last couple of games.

What was it? A TV and a PlayStation 2.

Enough said.

... and that's why we love Argentine football

Daniel Neilson — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 10:34:00 GMT

It's the last game of the season and Argie Bargy drags itself down to La Republica de Boca.

It was all in the name of spreading the word about football. Yep, there are actually people who have not been to a football game and three were with me on this occasion. What do you do when a visitor comes to Buenos Aires? Show them Evita's mausoleum and go to a football game.

La Boca on a freezing night against Tigre (11th in the league) may not seem like an alluring game, but this is Argentina and you never know what will happen.

Eight goals later and we - including three footie virgins - were bouncing up and down with the fans on the most exciting terrace in the world – on Boca Juniors' mighty Bombonera stadium.

La Bombonera in full-on party mode

Let's be honest, the quality of Argentine football here in Argentina is not great. We have the opportunity to see players on their way up or on their way down. Although Boca's team sheet did include Riqueleme, Palacio and Palermo.

Only slightly exaggerating, Palermo hasn't not scored in a game all season. Riqueleme still plays for the national side. And it was Palacio's last game for Boca after an $18m investment from Lazio.

But Boca put six past Tigre who managed just two in replay. We had sending offs, yellow cards, pitch invasions and the club's twelth man - the barra brava - were in full swing.

This is still a stunning experience, one of the most exciting in the football world I would argue, and there was nothing to play for. But Boca played and actually looked like they were enjoying it. The stadium was packed. And I remembered why I liked football again. After a pretty ugly season marred by violence, Argentine football was again doing what it does best... entertain.

River had won the Clausura a week earlier, while Independiente - known as the King of Cups - qualified for the Copa Libertadores after years away. The story now is Racing. One of the most supported Argentine football teams, Racing are playing in the Promoción – a playoff which, if they lose, will see them descend into the 'B' for the second time in their history.

But as the final whistle blew in the Bombonera, my three friends had seen just why Argentine football is so exciting. It doesn't have the smooth play and multimillion pound players, but it has the fans with their whistles, chants, flares and fireworks. It has players who often play for the team they are passionate for. It has a 'nothing to lose' attitude. It is a thrilling visceral experience.

Reading FC it ain't.