River Plate and Boca Juniors arrive at the seventh day of the Argentine League, which begins this Friday, with the purpose of forgetting their recent eliminations in the Copa Libertadores and climbing positions in the table of the domestic tournament.
The biggest teams in the South American country are going through turbulent times, both because of their poor results and because of the difficulties in adding reinforcements in this transfer market.
The round of 16 of the Copa Libertadores was the last big disappointment: Boca Juniors was eliminated on Tuesday in a penalty shootout (5-6) against Corinthians, while River Plate failed to beat Vélez on Wednesday, who qualified for the quarterfinals in the final for their victory in the first leg (0-1).
The management of ‘Xeneize’ chose to dismiss the coach Sebastián Battaglia a day after the cup blow, amid criticism from the coach for the absence of signings.
«The Copa Libertadores was a goal, but since 2007 it has not been won. Many coaches have passed and no one has the formula for success, (but) it has become an obsession and the coach always ends up paying,” Battaglia said Thursday, who, for the moment, does not have a substitute for the match against San Lorenzo this Saturday.
Marcelo Gallardo, meanwhile, will remain on the River Plate bench after his elimination from the Libertadores and will seek compensation in this Sunday’s match against Godoy Cruz.
The performance of Boca and River in the local tournament is not very encouraging, since they are in 11th and 12th place in the standings, 5 and 6 points behind the leaders, respectively.
Gymnastics, leader with 14 points, will visit Atlético de Tucumán this Sunday with the intention of extending their lead over Newell’s, a team that also has 14 points to its credit.
The team led by Javier Sanguinetti will have a litmus test this Saturday, since they visit the Platense field, 3rd with 12 points and one of the great surprises of the championship.
Another of the important matches of the day will be this Sunday, when Racing and Independiente, ranked 6th and 19th, will meet in one of the most intense classics of Argentine soccer.
Schedule of matches for the seventh day:
Friday 7/8: Rosario Central-Sarmiento.
Saturday 9/7: Patronato-Arsenal, San Lorenzo-Boca Juniors, Banfield-Unión, Talleres-Barracas Central and Platense-Newell’s.
Sunday 7/10: Estudiantes-Central Córdoba, Racing-Independiente, Lanús-Huracán, Atlético Tucumán-Gimnasia and River Plate-Godoy Cruz.
Monday 7/11: Defense and Justice-Aldosivi, Colón-Vélez and Argentinos Juniors-Tigre. EFE
