O Pierluigi, Where Art Thou?

Godoy Cruz-Boca Juniors 2-2 tilt ends in brawl

Pedro Arganaraz--who reportedly was only officiating his fourth top-flight match in Argentina--was timid throughout the match, missed some penalty calls and lost control of the proceedings before the brawl that ensued at the final whistle continued into the locker rooms.

Arganaraz was left off next week's round of matches in Argentina.

Boca-River is THE derby

Buenos Aires is taken hostage by Sunday's Superclasico 

The silence was defeaning.

Visiting Boca Juniors had just dispatched its archrivals River Plate in the 2004 Copa Libertadores semifinals in penalty kicks but the only cheers heard were on the pitch among the Boca brethren. Violence had condemned both sides to ban its respective away supporters for the two-legged tie.

Almost 10 years later, following a government ban on visiting fans because of several deaths towards the end of last season, this weekend's Argentine Superclasico again will only have home fans, with Estadio Monumental boasting the red-and-white colors as River fans will take full advantage of its home field advantage.

That won't stop from close to 1,000 officers from being deployed for this fixture Sunday as Boca supporters will surely be out in full numbers to accompany the team bus to the stadium.

On the pitch, River manager Ramon Diaz--who just inked a two-year extension--will see his Colombian forward Teofilo Gutierrez get his first taste of this derby. Midfielder Cristian Ledesma will help orchestrate his side's battles against Juan Roman Riquelme and Fernando Gago, both of whom played for the first time together in a Boca kit in last week's win over Quilmes.

We've already mentioned how cool and collected Manchester City boss Manuel Pelligrini was ahead of his first derby against Manchester United when he pointed out that the Boca-River clash was much more intense. The Chilean master also had alluded that the Real Madrid-Barcelona was cake compared with Argentine pressure. But don't take his word for it.  Have a look Sunday.

Boca and River both side in fourth and fifth, four and six points out of leaders and defending champions Newell's Old Boys.

-Tio Pelotas

@TioPelotas74

How to tackle...with your head !

We search the world for these clips (or spend too much time on YouTube!), but here's a great challenge in the Argentinos v Boca Juniors game this weekend.

He picks up a yellow, but brain damage may be the issue.

Weekend Geezer

Maybe because people love Curb Your Enthusiasm on the weekend, or that the Argentine league has just got underway, but the weekend Geezer is Larry David, sorry I mean Carlos Bianchi.

Bianchi is in his third spell as manager of Boca Juniors, and is the only manager to have won the Copa Libertadores 4 times.

He was also top scorer in the Argentinian League 3 times (1970, '71 and '81) - in between those titles, other names such as Mario Kempes and a certain Diego Maradona (5 times) won the top scorer award.  Bianchi was also the highest league scorer in France for 5 of the 6 years he was there with Reims and PSG.

River Plate and Boca Juniors making moves

New Manchester City manager, Manuel Pellegrini, summed it up last month in an interview when he was asked about his thoughts on the Manchester derby with United --- it'll be a walk in the park compared with the clasico in Argentina.

The Chilean master was boss at River Plate and described how the city shut down, how he had to be trapped at home because of his own fans' wrath if results didn't go their way and the intensity felt inside of River's and Boca Junior's respective stadiums during derbies.

The Inicial part of the campaign (first of two) kicks off today with Boca and River making headlines with some moves.

David Trezeguet, who signed on with River after they were relegated and helped them to promotion, didn't want to leave Argentina and is now at reigning champions Newell's Old Boys. River also brought in Colombian forward Teofilo Gutierrez, who pulled out what was later discovered to be a toy gun on teammates while at Racing Club. It also looks like Uruguayan Rodrigo Mora has reached a verbal agreement to leave Benfica and go to River as well but international slots may be a problem now. In any case, River is looking to build up a credible team to help it forget its descent into the second division just a couple of years ago.

Meanwhile, Boca inked Fernando Gago from Valencia in Spain. Gago played with Velez Sarsfield on loan last year and was average but Boca decided he's a piece to their ongoing puzzle to regain competitiveness after a disastrous campaign last year. Also returning to Boca is Daniel 'Cata' Diaz to help with their defending but supporters are still reeling from the losses of Uruguayan marksman Santiago Silva, who left for Lanus, a side managed by Boca legend Guillermo Barros Schelotto and Walter Erviti, who took off to Mexico.

One side that won't be participating in first-division action is Independiente, known as the "king of cups," after they were relegated last year.

While Brazilian football has recently attracted stars to its league, which has gotten stronger, Argentina has seen its share of mismanagement and financial debacles lead to distractions that has affected play on the pitch. But the competition has never lost its passion and purity and every supporter should keep up with Argentina's Primera as much as possible.

-Tio Pelotas