15 December 2008
by Jerrad Peters
Argentinean championship to be determined by Christmas
The championship of Argentina's Torneo Apertura ended in gridlock, Sunday, as each of San Lorenzo, Boca Juniors and Tigre completed their schedules with 39 points from 19 matches. The three sides will now participate in a mini-league, the winner of which will be awarded the title.
Boca are slight favorites to regain the trophy they last won in 2006. Despite injuries to Martin Palermo, Rodrigo Palacio, Fabian Vargas and Gabrial Paletta, they have lost just once since mid-October and have been boosted by the goalscoring prowess of Lucas Viatri.
The 6-foot-1 forward has been a revelation since arriving at La Bonbonera ahead of the Apertura. After splitting last season between Ecuadorian side Emelec and Venezuela's Maracaibo, he has notched eight goals for Los Xeneizes—filling some of the gap left by long-time pairing Palermo and Palacio.
Viatri was kept from the scoresheet on Sunday, however, as Luciano Figueroa scored twice for the home side. The 27-year-old Genoa striker opened the scoring after just nine minutes and doubled his tally just prior to the half-hour. In between, Juan Roman Riquelme scored his first goal of the competition as Boca jumped out to an early 3-0 lead.
Nicolas Torres restored a semblance of respectability to the proceedings when he put visiting Colon de Sata Fe on the board in the 42nd minute. And Lucas Martin Valdemarin pulled the guests to within a goal and provided a close finish when he struck just seven minutes after the restart.
Nevertheless, Boca remained resilient; and fans were treated to a brief cameo appearance from Palacio when he replaced Viatri on 59 minutes.
Meanwhile, San Lorenzo earned a rather fortunate 1-0 win against Argentinos Juniors at Diego Armando Maradona Stadium. Gonzalo Bergessio scored the only goal of the game in the 7th minute as the guests held on for a narrow win. They were aided by referee Gustavo Bassi who showed Ignacio Canuto his second yellow card with five minutes of normal time remaining. It was the sixth booking of the night for Argentinos Juniors.
Still, San Lorenzo only bothered goalkeeper Sebastian Torrico with three shots on target. That said, the result was justification for a campaign that El Ciclon led over much of the schedule. They were in danger of having their season derailed when they won just once from October 26 to December 6, but rebounded with three straight wins to complete the season.
Tigre did their part to ensure a three-way tie atop the ledger by beating Banfield 1-0 on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. Martin Morel scored the only goal in a cagey affair at Monumental de Victoria. The 28-year-old struck just prior to the interval and lifted El Matador into the mini-league in just their second season in top-flight football since 1980.
Club World Cup heats up
Gamba Osaka beat Adelaide United for the third time in five weeks, Sunday, and earned a semifinal showdown with UEFA Champions' League winners Manchester United at the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup in Japan.
Yasuhito Endo scored the only goal of the match in the 23rd minute as Gamba escaped an onslaught from the Australian side, spearheaded by captain Travis Dodd. The 28-year-old came close to scoring on two occasions, hitting the woodwork on a nifty header in the 42nd minute.
United, meanwhile, arrived in Japan on Monday after training in London on Sunday morning. The Red Devils are coming off a dour 0-0 draw at Tottenham Hotspur and have struggled offensively in recent matches. They are massive favorites to win the competition, although at least one of their veteran players would rather concentrate on making ground in the Premier League.
"It's a big competition and we want to win," said midfielder Paul Scholes. "But, obviously, we'd probably rather be here playing our league game and not have so many fixtures in January like we've got." He continued, "It's one of those things. We managed to win the European Cup last year and sometimes afterwards you have to do things maybe you don't want to do."
The 33-year-old's remarks were not echoed by John O'Shea, however. The Ireland international expressed his excitement for the tournament and brushed aside any notion that jetlag could be used as an excuse for a poor performance.
"The atmosphere will be electric," he said of United's first match against Gamba. "Osaka might be the home team on Thursday, but they could be outnumbered by United fans." He added, "This is our reward for winning the Champions' League final in Moscow. We have to try to take advantage of that."
To claim club football's international crown, United will have to overcome the winner of the other semifinal. Copa Libertadores holders LDU Quito will battle CONCACAF champions Pachuca on Wednesday in Tokyo.
Like United, Quito will be making their tournament debut at the semifinal stage. Pachuca, on the other hand, won a nail-biter against African champions Al-Ahly on Saturday.
Trailing 2-0 through a Flavio strike in the 44th minute and a Fausto Pinto own-goal, Pachuca manager Enrique Meza shuffled the deck at half-time, replacing Pinto with midfielder Luis Montes. The move paid immediate dividends. Just two minutes after the restart, the 22-year-old had the Mexican side within a goal—a deficit overcome by Christian Giminez in the 72nd minute.
Giminez scored his second goal in the 19th minute of extra time. By then, Pachuca were leading 3-2 from Damien Alvarez' strike in the 97th minute.
Despite Pachuca's undeniable momentum, Quito captain Patricio Urritia is already looking ahead to a possible final against United.
"They're a great side with lots of individual skill," stated the 30-year-old midfielder and Ecuador international. "They have some real match-winners."
Urritia is also confident that his side can overcome the summer sales of star forward Joffre Guerron and midfield stopper Enrique Vera. Guerron, 23, was sold to Getafe in June and Vera joined Club America in July.
"We're not quite at the level we were," admitted Urritia, "but bit by bit we're getting back there."
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