The No Dancing, No Dreaming Weekend Preview
With its poles, its silicone, and its thongs, Marcelo TinelliâÂÂs Bailando por un sueño â Dancing for a Dream â is, for some obscure reason, a particularly successful TV show in Argentina.
But when Tinelli is not shouting into a microphone, surrounded by a harem of goddesses and addressing over a third of the nationâÂÂs TV audience, he can be seen at San Lorenzo.
Together with Lord Aragon, he is the highest-profile ciclón supporter.
Viggo Mortensen wears San Lorenzo shirts during interviews and converts fellow actors into club supporters.
Tinelli, however, has a slightly more hands-on role, or at least he did up until this week.
The TV presenterâÂÂs investment group was responsible for bringing the likes of coaches Ramón DÃÂaz and Diego Simeone, along with Andrés DâÂÂAlessandro, Diego Placente and Santiago Solari, amongst others, to the club.
Tinelli was something of a sugar daddy for San Lorenzo, a wealthy fan who could bring the kind of players to the club that could win that elusive Libertadores Cup for the fans.
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The problem was, it never happened.
And last weekend, another of âÂÂTinelliâÂÂs playersâÂÂ, the brilliant but prickly Papu Gómez, was sent off as the team crashed to a 3-0 home defeat.
The supporters werenâÂÂt happy, and Gómez was almost beaten up by particularly irate fans on his way out of the stadium.
While Gómez said he considered retiring from the game, Tinelli decided it was time to leave San Lorenzo.
"It seems that some fans are only happy when the team lose," he said, telling the clubâÂÂs president he didnâÂÂt want such an important role at the club.
For now he will take a back seat, and only help out with the clubâÂÂs marketing.
"By him leaving," claimed the clubâÂÂs treasurer, with a wording clearly inspired by hours watching Tinelli on TV, "San Lorenzo arenâÂÂt left naked."
Maybe they are not, but they will have to decide what to do with the coach, Diego Simeone, who Tinelli took to the club.
Less than two months ago the CholoâÂÂs side were amongst the favourites to win the league and Sudamericana. Neither are now going to happen.
This weekend they take on Huracán in the derby, but if their minds are elsewhere, they need not worry â the Globo are in a similar position.
Huracán havenâÂÂt so much lost an investor â the club has never had money - but rather their spiritual leader.
Their coach, ÃÂngel Cappa, quit a week ago, but his players convinced him to stay on.
This week he quit again, but will stay on till the end of the year.
According to Cappa, his relationship with some of the clubâÂÂs directors has âÂÂworn thin.âÂÂ
The vice-president doesnâÂÂt quite see it that way, stating that the moustachioed maestro (not the viceâÂÂs choice of words) is âÂÂHuracánâÂÂs Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C.âÂÂ
Cappa insists heâÂÂll be leaving, so the club will have a task on their hands making the successor feel wanted.
The fans are having none of it. This seasonâÂÂs two wins in 14 games hasnâÂÂt changed their opinion of Cappa, who came so close to winning the title just months ago playing brilliant football.
The supporters know that, as Olé put it, "without Cappa the tiki tiki dies, and Huracán will become just another team that plays like all the others."
Perhaps that is why the quemeros have set up an online petition for Cappa to stay, and why on Friday night theyâÂÂll meet outside the club offices to make some noise.
It seems like itâÂÂll be too little too late, but as one supporter put it in the comments section of CappaâÂÂs own blog, "hopefully itâÂÂs not an adios, but a hasta pronto."
Whatever it is, donâÂÂt expect dancing or dreaming from the either sets of fans when Huracán take on San Lorenzo this weekend.
Fixtures
Friday
Estudiantes vs Tigre
Lanús vs Colón
Saturday
Huracán vs San Lorenzo
Atlético Tucumán vs Chacarita
Independiente vs Banfield
Sunday
NewellâÂÂs vs Rosario Central
Boca vs Gimnasia
Godoy Cruz vs River
Monday
Argentinos Juniors vs Arsenal
Vélez vs Racing
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