1. Will San Lorenzo’s clásico win over Huracán provide a catalyst?
The joyous scenes inside the Nuevo Gasómetro on Sunday evening brought back memories from last year when San Lorenzo celebrated winning their first ever Copa Libertadores. While obviously this was not even close to the significance of that achievement it confirmed two things: firstly, winning the first clásico against Huracán for close to four years meant a lot and secondly, since winning the Libertadores there has been little reason to cheer.
After losing to Real Madrid in December for the Club World Cup, 2015 provided Los Cuervos with a clean slate and the opportunity to prove that their successes of 2014 were no fluke. Performances at the start of the season have done little to assume they are anywhere near back at that level but they have been getting results, unlike during the Transición.
Saturday’s clásico was typically San Lorenzo 2015, shaky defensively but with just enough options when attacking to overpower their opponents. Huracán provided a constant threat and led through Patricio Torranzo’s excellent strike but San Lorenzo and in particular captain Leandro Romagnoli could not be contained. The iconic Pipi led this side to a 3-1 victory and sparked the wild celebrations inside the stadium and as El Ciclón moved up to second in the table thoughts of a renewed title challenge obviously emerged. Without Ángel Correa and Ignacio Piatti, the 2015 side is not as good as that which won the Copa Libertadores but with four wins from five it is perhaps time to start taking San Lorenzo seriously once again.
2. Another exciting draw but what has happened to Gallardo’s River?
You will hear few complaints from the neutral Argentine football fan over River Plate’s current defensive haphazardness but Marcelo Gallardo and the supporters are showing signs of frustration after another exciting draw. During the Transición, Gallardo’s River drew plaudits for their attacking brand of football which saw them finish runners-up to Racing and also lift the Copa Sudamericana. This success was built on the solid foundations of a defence that conceded the fewest goals in the Primera and went the entire Sudamericana campaign undefeated. After a summer which saw no noticeable departures, most would have expected River to enjoy much the same success.
However, Monday night’s clash with Arsenal saw the River defence breached a further three times en route to another hard fought point. Ramiro Carrera’s and Damián Pérez’s goals were superb but that does not take away to the fragility that Germán Pezzella and Ramiro Funes Mori displayed in the centre of defence.
It is already the third time that River have conceded two or more goals and they are yet to keep a clean sheet. Now compare that with the entire Transición where only Banfield scored twice, River kept seven clean sheets and conceded just 13 in the whole season and you can see the problem.
The form of Ramiro Funes Mori appears to be taking much of the ire as the fans call for Éder Alvarez Balanta to replace the 23-year-old and while he has been guilty of some awful individual errors the issue must run deeper than that. Funes Mori finds himself called up to the Argentina squad for the forthcoming friendlies and was part of the same River defence that looked so sturdy last year but he is struggling at present.
The injury to Marcelo Barovero is another contributing factor as his replacement, Julio Chiarini has not proved to be anywhere near as reliable but Gallardo must find a solution soon. Copa Libertadores qualification hangs a little in the balance and River will not want to drop too many points even at this early stage of the league season.
3. Minus Milito and Bou have Racing found another winning formula?
Racing were unexpected but worthy Transición champions but the concern for Diego Cocca is how his squad would then cope with the strain of playing in the Copa Libertadores in addition to defending their league title. So far in 2015, Racing have found midweek, continental football relatively easy and Gustavo Bou has already plundered two hat-tricks but returning to domestic action at the weekend has proved difficult. Already the talismanic, Diego Milito has suffered with slight injuries and fearing burnout, Cocca has wisely tried to rest Gustavo Bou. The result has seen Racing drop seven points already this season and after the goalless draw with Olimpo and the 1-1 draw away to the woeful Atlético Rafaela the pressure was increasing on Cocca’s other available attacking options.
Summer signing Brian Fernández got off the mark against Sporting Cristal in the Libertadores and looks to be a very useful alternative and on Friday without both Milito and Bou, Cocca’s side blew away Colón. An attacking line-up of Óscar Romero, Facundo Castillón and Carlos Núñez helped Racing to a 4-1 win and showed the first signs that Cocca will be able to successfully balance his commitments. La Academia managed four goals on two occasions last season and on both occasions it was Bou and Milito the architects. If Racing are to make a real tilt at defending the league title in addition to going a long way in the Libertadores Diego Cocca will need much more of this.
4. Four goals from Lucas Melano but can he lead a Lanús title challenge?
The individual performance of round five undoubtedly came from Lanús striker, Lucas Melano. The 22-year-old scored four superb goals in El Granate’s 5-1 demolition of Godoy Cruz and his unplayable form could not have come at a better time for manager Guillermo Barros Schelotto. A contractual dispute had robbed Lanús of centre forward, Santiago Silva for the goalless draw with Arsenal the previous week and with the news that the Uruguayan striker had opted to leave the club and sign for Arsenal, left Schelotto with a potential shortage up front. Certainly in Silva’s absence his side had look impotent and it was difficult to see where the goals would come from.
For the trip to Mendoza, Schelotto opted to play Melano in the number nine role and his faith was well and truly repaid. Four incredibly well taken goals in addition to the pace to beat defenders and the presence to bring others into play contributed to the match winning display and certainly on that performance alone there is no reason why Lanús cannot again make a title challenge.
5. Argentina call-up three Primera players – Are they correct?
Gerardo Martino named his initial squad of 22 European based players for the forthcoming friendlies against El Salvador and Ecuador in the United States but this week added three Primera división names to that list. Newell’s Old Boys’ veteran Maxi Rodríguez will travel with the squad once more and he was supposed to be joined by fellow international, Fernando Gago. Gago limped out of Boca’s 2-1 win over Defensa y Justicia however and so his replacement is Independiente captain, Federico Mancuello. The third name is River Plate defender, Ramiro Funes Mori, who as I already explained is not enjoying the best start to 2015.
La Selección knows all about Maxi but this is the first call for Mancuello, who at 25 has been a slow developer but who has emerged as perhaps the standout performer in the Primera. Under Jorge Almirón, Mancuello took the captain’s armband from Daniel Montenegro and has consistently produced for El Rojo in the past year. Ten goals from midfield in the Transición caught the attention of Martino and the former Barcelona manager described Mancuello as one of the best ‘inside midfielders.’ A good passer of the ball but importantly a player who breaks forward into the box and scores goals, Mancuello is perhaps just a call for the friendlies but he possesses slightly different qualities to those of the current crop of midfielders.
Funes Mori is a peculiar call given his current form. The 23-year-old centre back is a little error prone and is rather cumbersome on the ball and certainly with the pressure that he is under at club level is perhaps not brimming with confidence. A call-up for the national side will boost Funes Mori but it is very difficult seeing him as a future Albiceleste player.
