The truth is out – Diego Maradona is in love with Juan Roman Riquelme.

Problem is, love isn’t enough for him to take the gifted playmaker to South Africa. Not as a part of his World Cup squad, anyway.

That’s right, Boca Offsiders. In a week where he refused to answer questions of why he picked an injured player for his teams recently friendly with Jamaica, accused Jorge Valdano of being Anti-Argentine and claimed that Real Madrid ‘ruined’ Gabriel Heinze, current Argentina coach, Diego Maradona, also felt the time was right to declare his love for current Boca number 10, Juan Roman Riquelme.

Trouble was, he made this sweet, heartfelt, declaration a moment after taking any lingering hopes Roman may have had about being on the plane to South Africa and effectively shooting them in the face from close range with a cannon.

“It’s a closed subject. I called Riquelme up last March and he didn’t come. I love how he plays and I hope he returns to his best form for Boca Juniors, who need him,” Maradona was quoted as saying by local reporters.

It seems that, in the year since their falling out, Diego has been able to come to terms with his love for our current number 10, but not enough so as to forgive and forget his previous indiscretions.

Doesn’t Diego understand? If 80’s power rock ballads have taught us nothing, it’s that love can conquer all.

With that in mind, what is Diego so afraid of?

I guess it’s pretty obvious – he’s afraid of being hurt again. So, I would now like to make a personal appeal to the man himself:

I know what you must be feeling, Diego. Believe me, we’ve all been there. You put yourself out there, made yourself vulnerable, by calling Roman up for that national team game last March. You weren’t expecting to be rejected. You thought your relationship was built on a solid foundation. I mean, you’ve both worn the most coveted jersey at one of the world’s biggest clubs. You thought what the two of you had was unbreakable. But, sadly, it wasn’t.

Love can conquer all, Diego. You’ve just got to try. And, when the player you love is capable of this,

this,

and these,

don’t you think it’s worth giving it another shot?

Please, think about it. Roman has said he’s open to reconciliation, but you need to take the first step.

You can do it. Afterall, you are Diego Armando Maradona.

Vamos Maradona. Vamos Riquelme. Vamos Boca.

Vamos Boca…

Newell’s 4-2 Boca

Ok, be honest. Even with all our defensive flaws, who really saw that coming? For those of you nodding your head up and down as you read this – really?

Well, if you are claiming that you did, I am going to need to see written, verified, proof.

I, for one, certainly did not believe Boca were capable of going three down within 18 minutes. 50 minutes, sure. But, 18 minutes? It was a little bit of a shock.

Except, it wasn’t. Not when it was actually happening anyway.

Boca may have given a much improved defensive performance midweek at home to Lanus, but, in keeping with our wildly fluctuating form in Clausura 2010, the lads decided to show just how far they in fact haven’t, and then kinda have, come against Newell’s on Saturday night.

How far we haven’t come…

Although we conceded three inside the first twenty minutes, it could se easily have been five. Or even six. Newell’s tore us apart. So much so that, at some points, it simply appeared that there was no defensive line to speak of. At others, it appeared that our defenders had adopted the ‘headless chicken’ approach, simply running about in circles, quite unaware of what was going on around them.

Let’s put our defensive troubles into perspective. After three matches, we’ve let in seven goals. Only Arsenal (8) and Lanus (11) have conceded more. With Munoz and Paletta in the heart, I don’t buy the statement that our defense is too old. Not good enough, sure. But not too old. Hugo Ibarra has been a weak link thus far and is a clear target, but Morel Rodriguez has had a bright start to the season. He has, after all, managed to keep Luciano Monzon, a regular international, out of the side.

After the match, coach Alves noted that, “If kids are ready to come down I will not have any problem in promotions. I have to build a solid defense…” He knows all our kids, so if he thinks one of them can do the job, I’m sure he can.

…but, kinda have.

Let me put another thing in perspective. We may have let in seven goals, but we’ve also scored seven of our own. Only Argentinos Juniors (8) have scored more, and they smashed six past Lanus on Saturday.

We have been rather good going forward.

As we were against Newell’s. After the initial ’shock and awe’ onslaught from the home side, Boca we decent. Very decent. So much so that I took more than slight offense to the headline, “Boca woes continue with 4-2 defeat”, which I read on the ESPN website the morning after the match.

We weren’t that bad. In fact, if you let a neutral football fan watch the match from the 20 minute mark onwards, I’m more than confident they will agree with me when I say that Boca were the better team for the seventy-odd minutes they were able to view.

Why? Well, they would have witnessed a 2-1 Boca win for starters. Martin Palermo scored his third in three games from spot in the 34th minute and Lucas Viatri added a second with a wonderful individual effort with five minutes remaining. If only it had come 10-15 minutes earlier.

“Newell’s we won the game in fifteen minutes, when they scored (almost) all the goals. In the second half they did not arrive, we had the best chances and were very close to a tie.” Alves mused post match. True. Newell’s only had one more shot on target after they went three up. Boca fashioned 14 shots, seven of which were on target. We just couldn’t take our chances. Roman, especially, was guilty of leaving the radar at home.

If, as appears to be the case, Boca are planning to win the Clausura by scoring more, rather than conceding less, they are going to have make sure they have their shooting boots for each and every match.

A couple of notes worth noting from the match in Rosario:

- Martin’s legs aren’t what they used to be. He may have scored a nice penalty, but this was El Capitan’s only real contribution. Three full matches in a week, two of which were in driving rain, seemed to be a bridge too far for his 36 year old legs.

Fair enough, too. But, with Viatri and Pablo Mouche on the bench, giving the big man a rest shouldn’t be an issue for Alves. Viatri was energetic and dangerous when he came on with 20 minutes remaining. He scored a cracker, but imagine what may have happened if he’d been given an entire half. And what will Alves do when Ricardo Noir, arguably the most talented of our young forwards, is ready to play? Selection headache? More like selection migraine.

- Sebastian Prediger made his debut. The young midfielder who arrived from Porto during the transfer window unexpectedly debuted after a late injury to young midfielder Cristian Erbes.

The former Colon midfielder ran out in the number 13 shirt and proceeded to have a fairly ineffectual debut. He put himself around, but it was clear he was short of match fitness. His big moment was earning us the penalty.

Here are the goals:

Vamos Boca…

On Friday, Alves had this to say regarding Newell’s potent aerial threat and our inability to deal with potent aerial threats:

“We have it in mind, but we must not create any psychosis or anything like that.”

What he’s trying to say is, “If they get a free-kick, we’re just going to cross our fingers and hope for the best.”

In a move which shocked absolutely nobody, Alves decided to stick with the same eleven who started the midweek trouncing of Lanus.

XI

————Pato—————-
Ibarra—-Paletta—-Munoz—-Morel
———–Medel—————-
Jesus Mendez————–Erbes–
——Juan Roman Riquelme——–
—Palermo————Gaitan—–

Bench: Joshua Ayala, Julio Barroso, Fabián Monzón, Cristian Chavez, Ariel Rosada, Prediger, Federico Insua, Pablo Mouche Ricardo Noir and Luke Viatri.

One dominant performance deserves another, as they say.

Here’s what happened in the Apertura:

Vamos Boca…

Boca 3-1 Lanus

Well, that was more like it, wasn’t it Boca Offsiders? A crushing win over a title rival under conditions of extreme meteorological duress. Yes, you read right. As if playing a Copa Libertadores participant and the best traveling side in the league and wasn’t enough of a challenge, Mother Nature decided to up the stakes by unleashing a, what can only be described as Biblical, deluge upon, not just La Bombonera, but I’m guessing the majority of Argentinian land which was playing host to a football match today.

Despite the obstacles before them, Los Xenienes were tremendous. So tremendous that surely has the other nineteen teams in the league, at the very least, quaking in their boots. And whilst this is will do the confidence levels of the squad and it’s legion of supporters no end of good, one cannot forget that, for the players and coach Abel Alves, there are now no more excuses. All concerned have shown the level of play they are capable of and, for better or worse, they’ve decided to show it in round 2.

The standard has been set.

This performance is now the benchmark for which all other performances during this years Clausura will be judged. If we continue to play this close to perfection – so close we could smell on it’s breath the pea and ham soup with a side of garlic bread that it had for lunch – for the remaining 17 rounds, the championship trophy will have no choice but to take it’s place in our already mightily congested cabinet.

For those of you who weren’t blessed with the leisure or slow work day time to take in the match beyond the two-and-a-half minute Youtube highlights package someone with far too much leisure or slow work day time had to throw it together, here are the official Boca Offside reasons why this performance is regarded so highly:

- There was hunger, passion, strength and determination from all players, in all positions. Led by the junkyard dog, Gary Medel, each and every man in a soaked through Boca jersey fought for, chased down and attempted to thoughtfully distribute (the fact that these thoughts didn’t always pan out I am putting down to the swimming pool of a pitch they were playing on) every single ball they could.

For the first time in a long time, Boca played like they had a point to prove. To prove that the sun has by no means set on this great club. One moment which encapsulated this effort was in the first half when young defender Ezequiel Munoz, after tumbling to the turf in a challenge, thrust his head at a Lanus player’s foot as it was the only body part he had available to continue fighting for possession with. Outstanding stuff.

- Our defense was solid as a rock. Well, as solid as rock made of Boca Juniors defenders can be, anyway. More solid than English bank Northern Rock, but still not quite as solid as the stunningly colourful rocks which can be found all along the Quebrada de Humahuaca in Argentina’s north-west.

Munoz and Paletta looked very comfortable for large portions and Claudio Morel Rodriguez was excellent on the left, getting forward when possible but never neglecting his defensive duties. Even Hugo Ibarra had a commendable second half, after being largely at fault for Lanus’ equaliser just before half time.

- There was a plan behind each of Boca’s goals. Not just the usual wet weather plan of smash it forward into the box and hope it skids through of someone’s head or is poked home after some in the box pinball antics. Each goal was born out of dry weather football executed superbly in wet weather.

Medel poked home the first on 12 minutes after playing a lovely one-two on the edge of the area with none other than Gabriel Paletta. Whilst that was sweet, Boca’s second was an even sweeter. Barely three minutes into the second half, Nico Gaitan received the ball on the right wing. He shuffled forward, layed it inside to Riquelme on the outskirts of the penalty box, burst inside to receive it back from the number 10 and then played an inch perfect first-time ball across the area to the back post and onto the left boot of the defender-less Martin Palermo. That makes it 12 in 17 for the big man. And the third and final goal came courtesy of a Cristian Erbes header at the near post after a perfect corner from who else but Roman.

- Alves learnt from his first time mistakes. Against Argentinos, Alves got it all wrong by substituting both Nico Gaitan and Juan Riquelme in the dying stages, moves which led us to conceding goals. This time around he replaced Nico with Pablo Mouche, but left Roman on to see out the match. All concerned looked much calmer. And the end result was much more positive.

Before the match got underway, I thought that perhaps our new manager was nothing more than a poor man’s version of Sevilla manager Manolo Jimenez. Both had distinguished careers at the teams they now manage, but whilst Jimenez has gone on to prove himself to be not only a decent player, but also a decent manager, I was musing that perhaps Alves was not quite destined for the same. After his performance tonight, I am willing to retract that thought. For the time being at least. I will now think of him as simply our Manolo Jimenez.

Boca now find themselves second in the standings courtesy of Velez’s superior goal difference. They can’t afford to think this is good enough, however. Taking control of top spot must be the club’s top priority. If they can continue to turn in performances like they did against Lanus, this shouldn’t pose much of a problem.

Here are the highlights:

Vamos Boca.

If a reporter was to ever ask Martin Palermo the question, “If you could choose a team to play against everyday, who would it be?”, he would surely answer, without a moments hesitation, “Lanus, Lanus, Lanus!”

Why? He has 11 goals in 16 games against the men who wear maroon. They are his bitch. He knows it. They know it. And now, the three people who read this blog know it. No doubt El Loco will be looking to ram this fact home on Wednesday evening..

We’ve won four of our last five at La Bombonera. Lanus went the entirety of Apertura 2009 undefeated away from home. Last team to do that was, uh, it makes me sick to even write it…River Plate. Back in Clausura ‘03. Seven years ago. They won the league that year on 43 points. Beat us by four. We did go undefeated at La Bombonera that season, for what it’s worth…other than that, I haven’t been able to find out if we’ve ever managed to do this, primarily because ESPNsoccernet’s statistics only go back to 2002…and to search further back into the past just seemed to sad. But I’m sure we have, because we’re Boca. And we’re wicked.

Pato and Ibarra have both spoken to the press regarding our all too apparent inability to deal with set pieces and the need for things to change if we are to experience any success. Look for things to be tighter at the back.

In other news, Sebastian Prediger has arrived from Porto, as has former Fluminense defender Luiz Alberto. Apparently the deal for Carlos Valdez from Reggina fell through at the last moment, so management decided signing the clubless 32 year old was the smartest move available. Doubtful either will figure in this match.

Lineup

Word is that Alves will stick with the same XI who started against Argentinos. Christian Chavez and Pablo Mouche were given a run in training in place of Roman and Nico, so look for them to get a run at some point.

Pato
Ibarra, Paletta, Munoz, Morel
Mendez, Medel, Erbes
Juan Roman Riquelme
Palermo, Nico Gaitan

Here’s what happened when we traveled there:

Vamos Boca…

Argentinos Juniors 2-2 Boca Juniors

Hello Boca Offsiders. After taking in Boca’s frustrating opening encounter against Argentinos Juniors at what was a, according to Abel Alves anyway, suspiciously ‘small’ Estadio Diego Armando Maradona, I must admit that I feel more than a little embarrassed.

This embarrassment has nothing to do with the result. Our opposition, Argentinos Juniors are a very capable team (they finished the Apertura in more than credible sixth place), especially on home soil. My embarrassment stems from being so naïve as to think that Boca were capable, this early in the season at least, of turning in a collective performance that would match their blindingly obvious on-paper ability.

But, I guess that’s the way it goes when you choose to love a football team. In doing so, you ultimately choose to become this naïve, irrational, blob which refuses to think that the good times will ever come to an end and that the bad times aren’t really as bad as they seem. You may be aware of your sides’ massive inadequacies, inadequacies that rival fans and neutrals are all too happy to point out to you at any given opportunity, but you naively focus on the positives. Arsenal and Atletico Madrid fans will surely know what I am talking about.

In the end, it takes a performance like Boca’s on Sunday evening to grab you by the arms and shake you out of your naïve slumber, awaking you to the realities of your clubs plight.

And the reality for Los Xenienes is this – they have a long way to go if they are to be considered true contenders for this years Clausura title. After the major off-season backroom problems and the sorry on-field pre-season form, it was massively naive of me to think that a new manager, an injection of youth and simply the beginning of a new season would be enough to eradicate inadequacies that have been apparent for a long time now.

Despite twice going ahead, initially to a Martin Palermo ‘Johnny-on-the-spot’ tap in on 44 minutes after the Argentinos keeper fumbled a tame Riquelme shot, and again five minutes from time after a wonderful Riquelme strike, Boca twice allowed Argentinos to draw level courtesy of shambolic set piece defending. Yes, the very same defending that plagued us throughout last season.

Throughout the match, as it was for most of last season, the defense looked like an accident waiting to happen. “Very rarely plays came with danger,” argued Alves after the match. This is true. But, whenever Argentinos did push forward there was still a feeling that something horrendous could occur. Hugo Ibarra was particularly shaky on the right.

Juan Roman Riquelme was, to his credit, everywhere, passing and moving, passing and moving. He ran the show in what was a fine performance. Nico Gaitan also picked up from where he left off in the Apertura and was a constant threat on the wing. As a unit, though, Boca were shabby and uncohesive at best, and failed to stamp their authority on proceedings. The game plan was also much the same as last season – win the ball and get it to Roman. If Roman isn’t available, pass it around until he is. Failing that, look for Nico Gaitan. Failing that, just hoof the bloody thing forward and let Martin deal with it.

Alves himself may have been around the club for while now, but he clearly still has a lot to learn about being a manager. Twice he took attacking players off, replacing them with more defensive players in an effort to close the match down. Twice the change in personal and subsequent change in formation cost us goals. Argentinos scored their first two minutes after Ariel Rosada replaced Gaitan and their second moments after Insua replaced the exhausted Riquelme.

To summarise, the questions that remained from last season are still to be answered. How can our glaring defensive frailities be remedied? How will we cope when Roman eventually succumbs to an injury? Does the manager have the metal to deliver success?

But, in the end, naivety wins out. The naïve mind of the football fan magically manages to turn all their teams’ negatives into positives. It was only the first game. The coach and players need more time to gel. After the off-season we’ve had and our track record away at Argentinos, a point isn’t too bad an outcome. Ezequiel Munoz looks like a decent player. At least the coach knows what to work on at training this week. Our season really kicks off next weekend at La Bombonera against Lanus.

Naivity is under-rated.

Vamos Boca.

We may have lost only once in our last eight meetings with Argentinos, but the Estadio Diego Armando Maradona hasn’t exactly been a fun place to visit in recent years. The last time we caught the bus home with three points in our pocket was back in ‘06.

Guillermo Marino saved our bacon last time ’round:

There hasn’t been confirmation of the entire squad, but Alves has said that, barring any complications, his starting XI will look like this:

XI

Pato
Ibarra, Paletta, Munoz, Claudio Morel
Jesus Mendez
Gary Medel, Cristian Erbes
Juan Roman Riquelme
Martin Palermo, Nico Gaitan

Bench (from): Josúe Ayala; Adrián Gunino, Julio Barroso, Bonilla, Juan Krupoviesa; Cristian Chávez, Ariel Rosada, Matías Giménez; Federico Insúa; Pablo Mouche and Lucas Viatri.

We got off to a slow start in the Apertura. We can’t afford to let that happen again.

Vamos Boca.

Hello Boca Offsiders. I’m pumped today, and I think you know why. No, it’s not because I just watched Serena Williams successfully defend her women’s singles crown at the Australian Open after a genuine slog-fest with Justin Henin. I’m pumped because, almost seven weeks after we defeated Banfield at La Bombonera to end a dreadful Apertura 2009 campaign, the league is just about back. Clausura 2010 has already begun for some, and in less then 36 hours, Los Xenienes will kick-off against Argentinos Juniors at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Buenos Aires.

Now, I am usually quite a pessimistic man. Glass half empty and all that. But, when I think of our chances of challenging for the Clausura title this time around, I become overwhelmed with a sense of optimism. I believe we are in with a more than decent chance of taking home domestic title 32 and our first since 2008. So much so that the catchphrase I am bestowing upon our campaign is simply –

Yes We Can!

Now, I know your probably thinking, ‘Nice idea Brett, but Barack Obama used that exact same catchphrase during his election campaign, and after a year in office, look where it’s got him.’ Fair enough, Obama’s time in the White House thus far hasn’t really lived up to the hype, but at least allow me the opportunity to explain why I believe these three words to not be as ludicrous as they may initially sound.

Firstly, Boca Juniors is a football team. It is not trying to pass a revolutionary health reform bill through parliament, close a criminal detainment facility in Cuba or breath life into a flat-lining US economy. Boca’s only task is to win football matches.

Twelve wins was enough for Banfield to claim the title last term, and with the fixtures representing a mirror of those in the Apertura, we have been presented with very winnable home matches against the likes of River Plate, Atletico Tucuman, Racing Club, Huracan, Arsenal de Sarandi, Lanus and Rosario Central. Having a strong home record is vital if you are to challenge for honours, so we have been handed a fantastic opportunity.

Secondly, we have, for the first time in long time, no distractions. Having not qualified for the 2010 Copa Libertadores, we are free to focus all our energies on prevailing in the league. Four of our title rivals, Estudiantes, Banfield, Velez Sarsfield and Lanus are already into the Copa, whilst Newell’s Old Boys and Colon are, at present, going through qualification for the group stage. Seeing as we must face four of these teams away from La Bombonera, their participation in this tremendously grueling club competition will only aid us in our quest for points in the title race.

Thirdly, our squad looks mint. It may have taken some time, but the powers that be have managed to revitalise what was an aging, reactive, shallow squad last term by bringing in some quality, youthful, yet experienced, players.

In come midfielders Jesus Mendez (Rosario Central), Matias Gimenez (Tigre) and Sebastian Prediguer (FC Porto), whilst defender Carlos Valdez (Reggina) will replace the aging Julio Cesar Caceres. All of our new boys are in their mid-twenties and hungry for success.

We now possess quality and depth in abundance. A potential starting XI of Pato, Ibarra, Valdez, Munoz, Morel, Jesus Mendez, Battaglia, Insua, Riquelme, Gaitan and Palermo is the thing of dreams. And a bench containing the likes of Viatri, Chavez, Bonilla, Prediguer, Gimenez, Paletta, Gary Medel, Erbes, Krupoviesa, Rosada and Pablo Mouche gives us both adequate cover and versatility in all areas. There will be real pressure for places in the starting lineup, so players will have to perform to get a game. This kind of pressure is always a good thing and has been seriously lacking at Boca for a while now.

Fourthly, almost every player has something to play for. If it wasn’t enough to simply play for the love of the Boca shirt, a successful Clausura is particularly important for many in the squad. It’s a World Cup year, so players like Palermo, Juan Roman Riquelme (yes, I believe if he drives Boca to the title a place in Diego’s squad isn’t out of the question) and Uruguayan Valdez will have squad qualification in mind. Others, like Nico Gaitan, Paletta, Prediguer and Munoz must surely know that a big season could see them off, or back, to Europe in the summer. Even our manager, Abel Alves, knows that success would give him a very good chance of holding onto his job.

Feel better? A tad more optimistic? Even really, really excited?

So, let me ask you again – can we win Clausura 2010? Say it with me now –

Yes We Can!
Yes We Can!
YES WE CAN!!

Vamos Boca!!