Álvaro González joins Nacional on two-year deal

Álvaro González returns home. On Friday, the midfielder signed a two-year contract with his former club Nacional. Back in 2009/10, "Tata" already played for the Tricolor. 

Álvaro González signs his new contract (Photo: nacional.uy)

González arrived a couple of days ago to meet with the club officials. Those included José Luis Rodríguez, Heber Lambert, Dr. Pablo Durán and Alejandro Lembo. Especially Rodríguez made clear right away that he was optimistic to sign the player. As it turns out, he was fully correct and got the two-year deal on paper only hours later. 

For those that have for some reason never seen him play, here is the kind of player he is. As a very flexible midfielder, his main strengths are of a defensive nature. He is strong physically, very determined, good at winning back balls. However, his deliveries should also be noticeable, particularly in a less strong league such as Uruguay's. Lastly, he adds character and winning spirit to a group that has already won the Apertura title quite comfortably in the end. 

The player himself is happy to return to his former club. In the aforementioned 09/10 season, González featured in 29 league games and another eight internationally. In the process, he scored three goals against Atenas, Fénix and Danubio. At the end of the successful season, the Uruguayan joined Lazio Roma and stayed in Italy's capital for six years, aside from loan spells to Torino and Atlas in Mexico. 

From 2006 onwards, he also defended the colours of the Celeste. In 66 games, he could celebrate about a goal on three occasions. Three Copa América tournaments (and a title in 2011), a World Cup (2014) and a Confederations Cup appearance (2013) later, Nacional have got him back home. 

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Diego Coelho shows promise in Nacional's preseason

While the South American U20 championships are on, the focus naturally lies on the continent's elite talent. Clubs from all over Europe have sent their scouts to Ecuador. One player that is not involved in the tournament is Diego Coelho. Nevertheless, he is making a lot of noise during Nacional's preseason, having scored two goals already. What makes him one of the club's most promising talents?

Diego Coelho in training (Photo: ovaciondigital.com.uy).

In Nacional's sheer endless pipeline of excellent young players, Diego Coelho is just one of six talents that received their shot at first team action in preseason. Along with the likes of Facundo Labandeira, Gabriel Neves, Guzmán Corujo, Thiago Vecino and Axel Müller, Coelho started training with Martín Lasarte's men on January 4. 

The 22-year old Diego Coelho is a striker and owned family ties to the club before even playing his first friendly minutes. Father Walter Fabian played for Nacional from 1995 to 2005 and won six Primera División titles in the process. His son is still at the beginning of his own career, but his preseason form suggests at least raw talent. Diego produced two goals in as many games against Boston River and Montevideo Wanderers and left a good impression on Nacional's coaching staff that just welcomed Rodrigo Aguirre as a new striker option. 

"I am happy to take the opportunity, trying to do what the coach asks me and to add to the team", Coelho explains. "They game me opportunities to convert and the most important thing is to show efficiency in front of the net. I have the ability to face the play and help in the build-up, but also to take advantage of any ball that is in the area."

Diego Coelho's strengths are indeed quickly discovered: a big body paired with the ability to make good runs, quick pivots and most importantly a nose for the goal. Playing in the third Uruguayan division, he was able to showcase those skills on a regular basis in Nacional's second team. Even though Lasarte knows that the player still needs time and should not be rushed into top tier football too soon, he is also aware of the athlete he has in the club already. The coach underlines: "With these guys [Coelho and the other five] one has to be very careful and even more so at Nacional. In case it does not work out for them, it can generate a lot of frustration in the player and that is what we desire the least."

Nacional's training coordinator, Sebastián Taramasco, was interviewed regarding the talent in the club's youth team: "We start from the fact that all coaches are in permanent contact with us and the management. This includes watching trainings, matches or having talks with one another. We spoke with Martín [Lasarte] about this preseason and reached the result of adding these six players to the first team."

Whether Diego Coelho receives much playing time during the Clausura is rather doubtful with Hugo Silveira and Rodrigo Aguirre ahead of him. One thing remains certain: The striker is definitely one to watch in the future, whether it will be at Nacional or another club. 

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Nacional in position to win Uruguayan Apertura title

Surely there are more serious topics than a league title in the football world at the moment. Despite Chapecoense's tragic disaster and last weekend's scandal at the Clásico, Uruguay will go ahead with its penultimate Apertura matchday. Under certain conditions, Nacional could win the title already.

The scene at Nacional's training complex (Photo: nacional.uy).

Peñarol - Nacional ended up in a massive scandal, but not necessarily a bad one for the Tricolor. The football association AUF awarded them the three points for the Clásico. This puts Martín Lasarte's team into a position to win the title during the upcoming weekend. A home win over Juventud is the first thing required. In addition, Nacional need Danubio to drop points away to Fénix. 

A look at the numbers

For Nacional, chances are not looking too bad. They have only played five home games so far this season, winning each of them. Visiting Juventud on the other hand are not scaring anybody away from home this year. Only one win in six tries speaks a clear language. This is being underlined by a league-low three away goals. 

Ultimately, it will likely be about how well Danubio fares in their own match. While having a positive (3-1-2) away record, their opponents were not the strongest. Through their last three games, Leonardo Ramos' squad also managed to score just two total goals. Fénix' home form has been a single up and down throughout the season as well. They are 1-1-1 in their last three. 

Champion, yes or no?

It is still a South American football league. Predicting outcomes of games is incredibly hard. A Nacional win over Juventud seems highly likely, given the opportunity to win a title as well. Another bright side for Diego Polenta and teammates is their two-week long break from their last game. It gave every player an extended rest and Lasarte some time to work on tactical issues. 

The other game is the tougher one. Considering Danubio's struggles to find the back of the net, I see them not getting more than a draw away from home. Nacional will win the title in week 14 already.

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Silveira show as Nacional stay top

Week 10 in Uruguay's Primera División held no big surprises. Most of the favourites filled their role nicely and were victorious. Among them: Nacional, Danubio and Peñarol.

Ligüera shows his class again in Nacional's win over River (Photo: nacional.uy).

Hugo Silveira was the key figure for Nacional this weekend. In a 3-1 win over River Plate on Sunday evening, the striker assisted on all three goals. The Tricolor was up 2-0 early through goals from Kevin Ramírez (13') and Sebastián Fernández (24'). Inside a packed Gran Parque Central, the home team profited from an early red card for the visitors. Fernando Gorriarán went showering early after a stunningly poor tackle on Viudez after just ten minutes. 

Domination continued in the second half and Martín Ligüera made his presence felt instantly after coming on. While his first magnificent attempt went stopped after he left the whole defense stranded behind him, the second try worked out for him. Following a strong run and precise cross from Silveira, Ligüera was there to head it home for a three-goal lead. 

Despite Mathías Saavedra getting a goal back via penalty three minutes later (74'), the win was never under much threat. A good save from Esteban Conde later, the match was a success. Nacional stay on top of the Apertura table after their eigth win in ten games. 

Danubio following closely

Equally successful is just one team: Danubio. The bottom feeders from last year have recovered tremendously and added another win this weekend. Against Boston River, they managed to showcase their comeback qualities, winning 1-2 after coming from behind. Pablo Ceppelini gave the promoted team a first half lead (29') with a shot from the edge of the area. 

While Danubio had already been the better team throughout the first half, collecting the lionshare of opportunities. They finally made it count after a good hour. Damián Malrechauffe's effort was saved by Boston's goalkeeper, but was it in front of or behind the line? The replay angle was not highly conclusive.

A goal or not? 

Six minutes from the end, Joaquín Ardaiz decided the game with yet another weird goal. The player was already on the ground, but somehow managed to get a leg to the ball near him. The push was enough to take it past goalkeeper and line. Conclusively, you might want to add, this time around.

Peñarol discover goalscoring form

Peñarol have celebrated their second win in a row and third of the season. Yellow and black managed to beat Sud América 4-1 away from home. Things were looking grim early on for Peñarol yet again, when they fell down 1-0 through a Gonzalo Camargo strike after 17 minutes. This time around, Fernando Curutchet's men found a way back at an important time. Right before the break, Junior Arias of all people equalised for the visitors. 

After struggling to find the net for the opening 7 weeks, the striker has now scored three goals in as many games. It was the start of a strong second half that saw Peñarol score another three. Nicolás Albarracin (65'), Diego Rossi (75') and Nicolás Dibble (86') all got on the scoresheet later on. Not only does this win give their team the well-needed points. Additionally, a comeback win allows them to grow their confidence that is at a low seeing their 12-point gap to archrivals Nacional on top.

Elsewhere around the league

Montevideo Wanderers held onto third place in the table despite a 0-0 draw against Plaza Colonia. Liverpool, that could have jumped past them, lost their own game to Fénix, 1-0. Matias Mirabaje scored his second goal of the season for the home team.

Defensor Sporting needed a last minute winner from Facundo Castro to beat Rampla Juniors away. Racing convinced early on, bagging three quick goals away to Cerro. The home team nearly came back through two penalties from Maureen Franco and Pablo Caballero. It remained 2-3 at the end. 

Villa Española stay bottom of the league after a 1-1 draw with Juventud. Pablo Silva equalised for Villa in the second half after Leandro Zapze had given the home team the lead early on. 

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Man shot in Uruguay leads to match suspension

The Uruguayan league match between Rampla Juniors and Peñarol was suspended at halftime last night. Reason for the stoppage in the Estadio Centenario was the shooting of a man near the bathrooms of one of the stadium exits.

Blood ahead of one the Centenario bathrooms (Photo: ovaciondigital.com.uy).

Throughout the first half, people could concentrate on a game that was not a particularly good one for Peñarol once again. Down 1-0 to freshly promoted Rampla Juniors, they had to come up with some ideas to turn things around. As it turned out, football sadly took a backseat to other incidents. 

A man nearby bathroom door 10 of the Amsterdam grandstand took two bullets to arm and leg and was taken to the hospital right away. According to Sport 890, he is in stable condition. Furthermore, another person had to be attended to after being present in the same bathroom after the crime. According to several reports, the confrontation took place due to drug issues.

Questionable meanwhile the security around Estadio Centenario: Instead of conducting body searches, only metal detectors were in place for the match on Sunday night. Rightly, the police decided they could not guarantee safety of the spectators anymore and called off the game immediately.

It is uncertain when (and if) the second 45 minutes between the two sides are going to be played. One thing that is clear is the stadium will need to step up security wise.

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Big guns show mediocrity in Uruguay

When it comes to being favourites in the Uruguayan Primera División, two names quickly arise to the top of all discussions - for a good reason. Peñarol and Nacional share the lionshare of fans throughout the small nation among the Río de la Plata. Their performances in recent weeks have most certainly not lived up to the traditionally high expectations. 

Four games into the new season and after a lot of promising summer signings for both teams, Nacional and Peñarol find themselves positioned in midfield of the table. The latter have collected only five points thus far, currently one point behind their archrivals. Issues are ever-present on both sides, but of completely different nature. 

Peñarol

Disappointment about the lack of goals (Photo: peñarol.org).

Possessing the shared-best defense in the league is a sign that would usually make you a title contender. But not so fast: Peñarol have one big problem, a surprising one you might find after summer signings of the goalgetters Gastón Rodríguez and Junior Arias. During the past Clausura, both players found themselves on top of the league's scoring sheet with 16 and 10 goals respectively for their previous teams Wanderers and Liverpool. Now they scored zero goals. Considering the fact they were supposed to be Peñarol's new striking force, it is quite obviously a key area that explains what is going wrong. 

Two goals in four games simply will not crack it in a league, where a goal can always be scored out of nowhere, for literally any team, as proven by Plaza Colonia last season. Did Gastón Rodríguez' numbers last season fool the fans in yellow and black? Let us be clear that last season was unusual for him and off the charts. 16 goals in 14 games were simply outstanding. In no other half year in his career did Rodríguez score more than six goals, mostly even less. Certainly, he is a great striker for Uruguayan league standards. 

However, Peñarol has to be aware that him alone will not win them the championship, without according support from midfield. Junior Arias on the other hand is still young, 23 years of age, while consistently having improved throughout the past years. It was the player's dream to play for the club after improving from 6 to 9 to 10 goals in the Primera. He received the chance and has not really impressed so far either.

On the bright side, the aforementioned defense has been strong so far. In front of talented goalkeeper Gastón Guruceaga, the back four has seen several changes through injury or performance. One thing that did not change were the three clean sheets to start the year. 

Nacional

Focal point Martin Ligüera (Photo: nacional.uy).

If anything is not a problem for Nacional, it is the offense. They at least managed one goal in each of their four games, mixing their goalscorers around nicely, with nearly every striker scoring already. Sebastián Fernández and Martín Ligüera twice, Kevin Ramírez and Tabaré Viudez once each. Particularly apart from the 3-2 win over Plaza Colonia, it has not been all that convincing either though. 

Martin Ligüera's technical magic alone was the reason for the most recent win, when he scored from a direct freekick on the edge of the area against Fénix. The only other chance that game came from another set piece, when Mauricio Victorino headed just wide in the first half. Way too often, Martín Lasarte's men were seen playing through the middle with high balls. It is not really explicable considering the absence of a true proven number nine, unless you want to call the new signing Hugo Silveira that. 

Defensively, captain Diego Polenta and Jorge Fucile did not exactly bring the necessary stability back with them from their absences. This recently even led to Diego Espino rotating out of the first eleven to make room for Colombian Sergio Otalvaro. Nacional's defensive problems have translated straight over to the new season and could not be fixed under Lasarte so far. One thing that might help the back four is a little more balance with the defensive midfielders. Santiago Romero and Gonzalo Porras have found themselves caught in possession too often during the first weeks. Making sure to always have one player support the backline could work wonders and leave goalkeeper Esteban Conde with a little more hair on his head.

The near future

It is likely that eventually Rodríguez and Arias will start to score goals for Peñarol. Especially Arias' development speaks for a bright future for the young striker after getting used to his new surroundings. If they do not get it done, there is still Miguel Murillo in coach Pablo Bengoechea's backhand. Their defense should remain decent as the season progresses. 

Nacional on the other hand needs to fix several issues, but especially defensively. Who is going to do that? I do not know. On paper, they are good enough to play solid at the very least. However, when it comes to the on-pitch product, there is severe room for improvement. The fact that they somewhat rely on Ligüera offensively by now is not good considering his age, but should keep going well in the near future still. 

The good news for both is clearly that top of the table Danubio only collected nine points so far too, followed by several clubs with eight points. By having one good weekend, both teams would be right back in the mix to play for the title in Uruguay. That is the beauty of South American football. 

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Analysis: Nacional - Plaza Colonia

Nacional were hosting Plaza Colonia in an attempt to recover from their 1-2 loss to Danubio a few days ago. They did so successfully by beating the Clausura champions 3-2 at Gran Parque Central.

The first half really did not catch anyone on their feet entertainment-wise, but Nacional played quite well tactically, without allowing much. They took the lead in a fashion typical for this game. Nacional's biggest strength, their speedy wingers, proved vital after 17 minutes when Leandro Barcia was brought down inside the area after a nice run down the left.

Barcia brought down for a penalty.

Veteran striker Sebastián Rodríguez had no big trouble converting into the bottom left corner. However, before the goal, the hosts did not have many clear cut opportunities, a header from Mauricio Victorino after a set piece probably the best. This was often due to a lack of precision on their way forward. 

What worked best remained their wing play, with Barcia, Tabaré Viudez and Kevin Ramírez. While the latter joined Fernández up front to form a striking duo at times, he also joined the rotation with the other two. This saw Ramírez return to his common position from last season, the left wing, with Barcia on the right and Viudez down the middle. It was a smart change by Martín Lasarte's men, considering the lack of balls the actual strikers got up front. 

When he came into the play, Fernández was always dangerous, having another great opportunity to score denied by goalkeeper Dawson (28'). The rotation was ripped apart shortly after though, with Barcia having to leave the game injured. The less flexible oldie Martín Ligüera came on to replace him as true #10. 

On the other side of the ball, they were really well-organized too for the most part and showed some active defense against Plaza's rare attacks. One reason of them being so rare was the early distruction of any sort of attack by gaining a numerical advantage near the ball at all times. 

Three man take the ball away from Plaza's midfielder.

The fact that Nacional did not go to the half-time with the lead was simply down to a lot of bad luck. Plaza Colonia won a freekick about 25m out and the shot would have been an easy save for Esteban Conde. Gonzalo Porras as outside part of the wall deflected the ball and gave it its significant change of direction. It bounced against the inside of the post and in and Villoldo had equalised right before the break.

The second half started very evenly with not too many chances on both ends. Kevin Ramírez was denied by an exceptional reaction from Dawson. Just as Plaza Colonia was improving and applying a solid forecheck, they were punished twice inside one minute and basically sent home. 

Ligüera was sent through on the right side of the area and crossed beautifully for Ramírez. He for some reason could not put the ball across the line, so Fernández helped him out for his second of the night. The second goal seconds later was not much different. Viudez' cross from the right was buried by Ligüera himself this time. It was an emotional moment for the Nacional returnee. 

For obvious reasons, Nacional received a ton more room now and Ligüera could pick his favourite passes out of his magic hat. At least until the visitors struck out of nowhere again. From a throw-in on the right, noone could get the ball away and instead of hitting it for the sidelines, Gonzalo Porras for some reason decided it was a good idea to fire it into the center of his own area, where it was deflected to and Leyes stood where he had to to convert. 

Three against one, but Plaza will score in the middle.

Plaza's goal quickly destroyed any Nacional confidence and they turned hectic and simply bad at the back with inexplicable errors and nearly an own goal from Santiago Romero. The fact that their opponents barely gave them any serious tasks and yet the defense shook considerably is a reason to worry for Nacional going forward. They have some work to do on this end and Lasarte knows it. 

The 3-2 lead on the night was brought across the line and gives them their first three points at least. It leaves the Gran Parque Central crowd happy and that is what matters in the end.

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Nacional visit Danubio to get season started

Finally, the new season in Uruguay's Primera División is about to begin today. Two games will be played at 20:30 CET, one of them Danubio - Nacional. Here is all you need to know ahead of the season start.

Nacional - Danubio in Uruguay today (Photo: nacional.uy).

When Nacional travel to the Estadio Jardines del Hipódromo later today, they find themselves confronted with a tough challenge to begin with. From the past 6 games against Danubio, Uruguay's record champion could only win one while losing the other five. Their advantage this time around might be that no team really knows where it stands before things get started. 

The prolonged summer break due to safety concerns surrounding the big stadiums left the teams with a lot of friendlies to be played throughout the past weeks. When it gets serious today, Martín Lasarte's team will be without their captain. Diego Polenta was one of the players losing their cool during the meltdown at the end of last season. 

His replacement will likely be Rafael García. The Nacional youth product returned to the club this summer from his loan to Argentina's Defensa y Justicia. Possible returns to the field also include midfielder Diego Arismendi and winger Tabaré Viudez. Especially the latter could prove vital going forward with his speed and smart movement. 

Lasarte nominated the following players for the travel to play Danubio:

Esteban Conde, Luis Mejía.
Jorge Fucile, Mauricio Victorino, Rafael García, Alfonso Espino, Mathías Olivera, Agustín Lapido.
Diego Arismendi, Gonzalo Porras, Felipe Carballo, Sebastián Rodríguez, Santiago Romero, Martín Ligüera.
Leandro Barcia, Brian Lozano, Tabaré Viudez, Kevin Ramírez, Hugo Silveira, Sebastián Fernández.

This would make the following lineup look likely:
Conde - Fucile, Victorino, Garcia, Espino - Romero, Arismendi - Barcia, Lozano - Ramírez, Viudez.

 As you can tell, there are so many options, especially offensively, producing trouble to even fit everyone into a lineup. Good news for Lasarte, experienced Ligüera is a fantastic midfielder too.

Danubio on the other end will be without two players. Right midfielder Jorge Graví is suspended due to his accumulation of yellow cards. Offensive midfielder Marcelo Tabárez is dealing with a knee injury. They are two regulars on the team and will be missed by coach Leandro Ramos.

Centre-back Cristian González has left Danubio to join Sevilla's B team in Spain. He will leave a vacancy at the back as well.

Expert's Voice for Sporticos. 

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Argentina Season Preview - Part 1/2

Following CA Lanús' stunning title win during the shortened Primera División season in the early months of 2016, the new season is right around the corner in Argentina. On August 21, 30 teams will yet again begin their quest for the - probably - most important league title in South America. This preview takes a look at all the teams, their changes in the summer and what can be expected from each one of them. Enjoy and please share if you liked it!

Lanús celebrate their title in 2016 (Photo: losandes.com.ar).

The brightest news first: the two division system is gone again. During the 2016-17 season, each team will play against everyone else at least once; twice against their Clásico rivals. It will be a new year that starts with a bang as Independiente will play hosts to champions Lanús in week one. 

New to the league are CA Talleres from Córdoba. The 102-year old club replaced the iconic Argentinos Juniors that were just too poor all year long to stay in the league. At the end of 16-17, four clubs will be hit by their relegation fate. As usual, the table of the last four seasons will be significant for the bottom clubs. The four spots are currently being held by Talleres, Atlético de Rafaela, Temperley and Sarmiento. 

In the regular yearly table, the four best teams will qualify for the Copa Libertadores in 2018. The following six will play Copa Sudamericana 2017. Traditionally, the big names are being expected to compete for the championship, whether it is River Plate, Boca Juniors or Racing Club. However, it is not justified for each one of them. Let us preview the teams.

Club Atlético Lanús

After shocking the big clubs with 12 wins out of 16 games during the 2016 season, CA Lanús return to the new year as first-time champions of Argentina. Most importantly, 34-year old striker José Sand remained at the club after scoring a ridiculous 14 goals the past season. The other main reason for success, coach Jorge Almirón, did the same and promises another year in the top regions of the table.

On the less bright side of things, Lanús did lose some quality on the transfer market. Paraguayan centre-back Gustavo Gómez joined AC Milan for €8.5 million, while Oscar Benítez went to Portugal to play for Benfica (€3.3 million). In addition, midfielders Pablo Mouche and Iván Marcone returned to Palmeiras and Arsenal de Sarandí respectively after their loan spells ended. 

Lanús themselves did not spend any money on the transfer market. They received back five players from loan spells, loaned striker Brian Montenegro (Nacional/PAR) as alternative for Sand in a busy calendar, right-wing Ciru Rius from Defensa y Justicia and managed to sign centre-back Santiago Zurbriggen. The 26-year old comes from Unión's youth system and was a key part of the first team in Santa Fe last season. Additionally, he is very flexible and can play on both sides defensively. 

Outlook: While losing three of their important regulars is definitely not good news for the club, they managed to keep some exciting prospects on the team as well. Paraguayan left-wing Miguel Almirón or striker Sergio González can be a part of another good season. It is doubtful that it will lead Lanús to the title again, but a top five spot is certainly not out of the question.

Club Atlético Aldosivi

The sharks have established themselves quite well in the Primera after reaching the highest tier of Argentine football in 2014. In the upcoming season, they will try to improve further and reach the secure midfield of the table yet again. Aldosivi's most exciting young player Santiago Rosales unfortunately left the club and joined Racing in a summer transfer. While the club received €2.35 million for the player, it leaves a big hole in the creative department on the left wing. In addition, 23-year old centre-back Guillermo Ortiz found Newell's Old Boys offer more attractive. Understandable, if such an iconic side inquires for you.

Central midfielder Martín Rivero joined his teammates on the way out after featuring in 15 matches last season. To replace him, Aldosivi acquired the services of 33-year old Uruguayan Roberto Brum. He joins the team on a free transfer from Gimnasia y Esgrima and wants to bring his experience to the table. The squad is filled up by a lot of U26 hopefuls from Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay. One of them is Joel Acosta, a former U20 international of Argentina, from Boca's youth. He spent last season in Italy's Serie B, but could not make his mark. Instead, the player that can play anywhere on the pitch, will try to live up to his former standout status back home.

Outlook: Losing Rosales hurts Aldosivi a lot, but there will surely be weaker teams in the league. Led consistently by coach Fernando Quiroz since 2011, the offense has never really been a big problem at the club. New centre-back Alan Alegre is supposed to be part of the solution to fix the defensive issues.

Arsenal Fútbol Club

One of the few that stayed: Juan Sánchez Sotelo (Photo: mundod.lavoz.com.ar).

If you like a lot of changes in just one summer, Arsenal is your club. 16 players left the club, another 15 are new on Sergio Rondina's team. Logically, the new season is quite hard to predict and a lot depends on the coaching staff's ability to form a working unit quickly. Last year, they managed just that and finished fourth in Zone A.

Losing Fernando Luna is not great, but the club will be able to cope with that situation. Midfielder Federico Lértora featured in 15 games last season and is tough to replace. He joined league rivals Belgrano. In addition, offensive midfielder Mariano Barbieri left as well, interestingly with the same destination. They leave a hole down the middle in the squad that Arsenal is trying to fill with returnee Iván Marcone from Lanús and Maximiliano Calzada (Defensa).

Outlook: Despite a lot of action on the transfer market, Arsenal look somewhat ready to have a safe season in the middle of the pack. They managed to make the loan spell of left-back Claudio Corvalán permanent and loaned talented right midfielder Ramiro Carrera to Gimnasia. Why, you have to wonder, considering the exit of Luna, even if he was the more defensive option. If they find their structure quickly, they will be fine.

Atlético de Rafaela

Like I mentioned before, Atlético de Rafaela is deep in relegation trouble. They need a lot of points to avoid the drop and they need them better early than late. Coach Juan Manuel Llop knows that, but has only managed to win one game during his short 9 match span at the club. According to transfermarkt, the club is the least valuable in the league when it comes to player market value. At least Nelson Benítez, the only player that started more than 11 games for the club last season (15) stayed.

On the exit side instead: their only marquee talent, goalkeeper Axel Werner. He was part of Argentina's squad at the Rio Olympics and sold to Atlético Madrid. They loaned him back to Boca Juniors, so Rafaela will have the pleasure of going up against him during the season. Combined with striker Ignacio Pussetto (to Huracán) and right-back Leonardo Godoy (Talleres), it handed Atlético de Rafaela some well-needed money in the range of €2.5 million.

Lucas Hoyos is supposed to be the new number one behind an extremely shaky backline that was the worst in the whole league last season. It is the reason why most transfers have been made defensively. Five new players are supposed to make the difference and four of them will fight for starting spots as centre-back.

Outlook: It is really difficult to see this team anywhere but down. The fact that they need to leave four other teams behind them in the four-year table is unlikely considering their low starting position. If they are able to do it, it will have to be based on a better defense.

Club Atlético Tucumán

A great past season from the freshly promoted team makes a lot of hope for this season. CA Tucumán finished third in Zone B, way ahead of teams such as Racing or Boca. Going into 2016-17, they have done really well to keep their team together for another year. Solely losing right-back regular Nicolás Romat to Huracán is a loss.

Three players joined the club this summer. Mauricio Rosales did not play anymore at Estudiantes and will attempt to fill the hole Romat leaves on the right. In addition, 23-year old left midfielder Javier Mendoza and Independiente goalkeeper Facundo Daffonchio came in as well.

Outlook: Striker and captain Luis Rodríguez is 17 goals away from the all-time goalscoring lead and the 31-year old will be built upon to score this season as well. Tucumán have everything in line to play another successful season and there is nothing speaking against it. Surely, they will not surprise other teams anymore, but coach Juan Manuel Azconzábal has his team well-organised and ready to go again.

Club Atlético Banfield

Seemingly on the way up, Banfield had a very disappointing season in early 2016. They managed to win only two games throughout the 16. Seeing that they drew nine, it is not that hard to find their biggest problem: scoring goals. Under one per game was simply not good enough, but the problem was only adressed mediocrely in the summer.

Central striker Mauricio Asenjo returned from his loan spell in the Primera B. He did not convince significantly there. On the right wing, the experienced Mauricio Sperdutti was acquired from CA Colón. The former Argentine international (3 caps) was a key part of his team's offense and scored 4 goals, while assisting on another 3. Banfield hope that he can do similar things at the low-scoring team from the Buenos Aires area.

In central midfield, loaning River's Nicolás Bertolo to replace Iván Rossi who went the other way, is a great move by Banfield. Giovanni Simeone's loan spell from River ended as well and the 20-year old, despite not having the strongest season, scored a third (5) of all Banfield goals.

Outlook: Banfield will need to improve on the offensive side and more goals from veteran striker Santiago Silva and his new teammates like Sperdutti. Without Simeone, that seems like a bit of a longshot. I expect them to stay in the same area of the table in general, but maybe win some games more of those that they finished in a draw.

Club Atlético Belgrano

Matías Suárez, the club's own youth product (Photo: mundod.lavoz.com.ar).

Another team that never really got going last year was Belgrano. Scoring 21 goals was okay, but conceding 24 left them on the losing side more often than needed. In the upcoming months, Belgrano will have an additional competition on top, after qualifying for the Copa Sudamericana. How will they be able to cope with more games?

Significant players leaving the club this summer were centre-back Pier Barrios (to Ferro Carril) and 35-year old veteran striker presence Mauro Óbolo. On the sportive side of things, you cannot call it a loss, considering his zero-goal year. He returns to Universidad Católica. Belgrano themselves went up and down the talent pool to find new players. Federico Lértora and Mariano Barbieri (both Arsenal) should help, at minimum depth-wise. The most surprising deal of the summer was probably Matías Suárez back home from Belgian top club RSC Anderlecht. Back in 2008, the now 28-year old left the youth system of Belgrano and ended up playing 138 games in the Belgian league. In those, he managed 38 goals and 41 assists.

Outlook: Suárez is a fantastic signing on a free deal for Belgrano. He is the type of player this offense needs in its supporting cast. The rest of the players have scored very evenly last season and need their one go-to-guy. This is why I expect Belgrano to improve next season. After winning just a quarter of their games last season, they will at least move that up to a third despite playing in more games than most of their opponents. 

Club Atlético Boca Juniors

Putting all their eggs into one basket last season, Boca fell on their nose dramatically in the Copa Libertadores semifinal against Independiente del Valle. After a weak start and due to fielding a reserve squad on most of the late matchdays in the league, Boca collected a losing record last year, going 5-5-6 and finishing tenth. 

Of course, everything is expected to go smoother again in the upcoming year at the double winner of 2015. However, firstly the club has to deal with the loss of many of their most important players. Former captain Cata Díaz might have been 37 years old by now, but his experience was invaluable, in particular to the young players. The same goes for goalkeeper Agustín Orión, who was rumoured to leave the club throughout the transfer window, but has not done so yet. MLS club Seattle Sounders bought creative midfielder Nicolás Lodeiro for nearly €5.5 million. Elsewhere, the strikers Sebastián Palacios and Andrés Chávez left the club as well. 

Boca reacted with the purchase of a new #9, Darío Benedetto from Mexico's América for €4.4 million. In 43 games in all competitions in 15-16, Benedetto scored 13 goals. There is room for improvement for the 26-year old that lost his form a little after his strong Apertura. Should Orión indeed still leave, young Axel Werner is his replacement. Santiago Vergini (Sunderland) and Lisandro Magallán (Defensa) throw their name into the hat to fill the vacant centre-back position for Díaz. 

Outlook: Further good transfers including Fernando Zuqui and Walter Bou mean that Boca are nicely prepared for the upcoming season. The creative vacuum of Lodeiro remains seemingly wide open though. A lot of pressure to make up for it will be on Carlos Tévez' shoulders as always. At least he said in an interview that he plans to end his career at Boca before becoming a golfer. 

Club Atlético Colón

The biggest name at Colón will sit on the bench next season. Legendary Uruguayan and Juventus defender Paolo Montero has taken over control and wants to lead the club to more success than 11th place last season. It could be a good appointment, because the defense has been horrible last year and conceded a whopping 31 goals. 

Losing their main man up front that scored 7 in 9, Alan Ruíz, was obvious. He still brought a lot of money into Colón's cash register, costing Sporting Lisbon €5.3 million. New Banfield man Sperdutti will be missed as well, leading to the fact that the club from Santa Fe basically needs a new offense, since left-wing Víctor Figueroa's loan from Newell's ended. New loan deals in return are supposed to make the difference, such as for Rosario Central's central striker Walter Acuña. 

At least talented young centre-back Germán Conti remained at Colón and will have a new partner from the likes of Guillermo Ortiz, Ismael Banegas or Emanuel Olivera. Coach Montero brought the latter along with him from Boca Unidos. Whether he is yet ready for Argentina's top league remains to be seen. 

Outlook: A lot of uncertainties heading into the new season for CA Colón. Will they get their wide open defense under control? How fast will they implement Montero's new ideas? And lastly, who is going to score the goals? A lower midfield position looks the most likely again at this point.

Defensa y Justicia

A new team can also be found at Defensa y Justicia. 14 players freshly arrived to make up for 16 leaving colleagues. As it is the norm for many Argentine clubs, loan deals were Defensa's main activity on the transfer market again. Even if it keeps happening to them, it is a disappointment for Defense to have their successful team that finished fourth in Zone A fall apart again. At least 9-goal striker Fabian Bordagaray remained with the club and keeps being supported by Nicolás Stefanelli. 

Talented youngsters from all of Argentina's big clubs fill up the rest of the squad and hope to receive some playing time from coach Ariel Holan. They will more likely than not do so, simply because of a lack of alternatives. It is a win-win situation for both, as the U21 players can raise their market value and attract the attention of possible suitors across the Atlantic Ocean.

Outlook: Finishing fourth will not be an option in a 30-week season. Their system however is solid enough and the young players should learn fast. Holan is experienced to work with them at Defensa since the summer of 2015. A decent midfield position is possible.

Club Estudiantes de la Plata

Permanently at Estudiantes: Mariano Andujár (Photo: elpaismenosalgunos.com.ar).

Estudiantes successfully reached the Copa Libertadores last season in the decider against Godoy Cruz. Since years, they have been somewhat on the edge of topping Argentina, but falling just shy. Former midfield star Juan Sebastián Verón has done well in recent times and built a team that is particularly strong at the back. After conceding 11 goals in 2016, their great defense remains intact for the new year as well, promising an improvement this season. 

Because every great team starts with a great goalkeeper, the Argentines picked up some money and invested in Mariano Andujár and made his loan deal from Napoli permanent. It cost the club €455.000. More veteran presence is being introduced to the squad in form of Rodrigo Braña on a free from Quilmes and Javier Toledo on loan from San Martín.

Outlook: There is not much that speaks against Estudiantes at the moment. Defense wins championships and I believe theirs will be one of the best in the league again. A grown, strong team with a coach who knows how to win championships has to be a favourite for the title. It could be theirs this season. 

Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata

The other club from La Plata. They might be less successful than their big rival, but have played another good season last year. After finishing fifth in Zone A, they still have potential to do better. To accomplish higher goals in the future, they purchased offensive midfielder Lorenzo Faravelli from Newell's for nearly €900.000. During his loan stint with the club, he thoroughly convinced and wanted to stay at the club as well.

Ramiro Carrera from Arsenal was brought in on loan and is a tremendous talent in his right midfield position. In addition, 38-year old midfielder Sebastián Romero came over from Banfield and despite his age, he is still able to produce good performances on top level. Gimnasia will need him to either way, considering who the new guys have to replace. Uruguayan international Álvaro González followed his countryman Lodeiro to Seattle and will be missed in central midfield. Walter Bou was responsible for seven of his team's 19 goals and left for Boca.

Outlook: Gimnasia still need a proven striker to compete on a consistent basis. However, the team is good enough to beat any opponent when in form. They will most likely have their downtime during the season again, but should be able to pull off a top 10 finish.

Club Deportivo Godoy Cruz

A little disappointed was not how Godoy Cruz wanted to end their last season, but despite losing the Copa Libertadores decider, they had a tremendous season. Led by Santiago Garcia's and Jaime Ayoví's goalscoring ways, Godoy Cruz are ready to replicate their success again in late 2016.

Fernando Zuqui, a very important midfielder of Sebastián Méndez' team, left to Boca for €2.7 million, but at least the club managed to make the signing of Guillermo Fernández permanent the other way for half of that sum. Another important part of the first XI that needed replacement was left-back Lucas Ceballos. Godoy Cruz managed to sign Marcelo Benítez from Defensa on loan.

Outlook: Since most of their successful team remained at the club, it is likely that they can have a good season again. However, Godoy Cruz have been up and down in recent years and will have to be careful to not find themselves in a negative spiral one day. Santiago Garcia is only 25 years old, a perfect age for a striker and can easily score above ten goals again in 16-17.

Club Atlético Huracán

Huracán's offense relied solely on one player throughout the last years: Ramón Ábila. The big striker was transferred to Cruzeiro back in June and I have no idea how Huracán are going to survive without him. 11 goals in the league and 5 more in the Copa Libertadores were one of a kind and made him impossible to hold onto. It is the typical price of success you pay at an Argentine club.

More money was brought in by the sale of Cristian Espinoza to Spanish Villareal. The Yellow Submarine paid €7.2 million for the young Olympian. With José San Román, a third important regular left the club, him to Dutch ADO Den Haag. Who are their replacements? Nicolás Romat from Tucumán is the new right-back, Ignacio Pussetto the talented 20-year old central striker will be trying to get the goals Ábila used to. Huracán paid €1.25 million for him. A third exciting player is Julio Angulo, one of the surprising heroes of Independiente del Valle's Libertadores run.

Outlook: The personnel losses were big and the new players will need some time to acclimatise in Buenos Aires. While I do not want to call them less talented, they have a lot to live up to with their predecessors' success, especially in cup competitions. Huracán will be strong enough to finish in a midfield spot, but not any higher.

Club Atlético Independiente

New to Independiente: Juan Sánchez Miño (Photo: nexofin.com).

Last team in today's part 1 of the preview is Independiente. The record Copa Libertadores winner is named as one of the title favourites year after year, but has not lived up to expectations in quite some time. Why not? While the defense does fine most of the time and only conceded 12 goals last season, the offense was not seen too often.

To change that fact, left-wing Juan Sánchez Miño was purchased from Torino. The 26-year old is supposed to improve the service for the strikers, such as Germán Denis. Independiente have a ton of talent in nearly every position, Emiliano Rigoni being one of them. Last season, the young right midfielder played all 16 games and led his team on the scoring sheet with four.

Outlook: Gabriel Milito is the new coach of Independiente. How will he fare in a traditionally quickly stressful environment? Only important loss was right-wing Rodrigo Gómez who went to Mexico's Toluca. We might see a bit of a shift to the left side with Miño's strengths. Independiente's defense still looks solid, but will that be enough to win the title this time around? They still somewhat lack a striker that scores consistently and I personally think that would be the last ingredient to a closer title chase.

Thank you!

If you are still reading this here, thank you! You rock and if you would like to share it on social media or with your friends, I would appreciate that, because it took me forever to write this. Part 2 will be coming soon with the other 15 teams! 

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Viudez' farewell to River Plate teammates

Tabaré Viudez is close to rejoining Nacional from Argentina's River Plate. The 26-year old winger played his last game for the Uruguayan record champion in 2012.

Tabaré Viudez in the Nacional shirt back in 2012. (Photo: mundod.lavoz.com.ar)

According to a report from Ovación, Tabaré Viudez bid farewell to his River Plate teammates in Orlando, Florida the past afternoon. The Copa Libertadores holders are currently holding their pre-season camp in the United States and will, if everything goes according to plan, tackle the upcoming challenges without Viudez. 

Nacional president José Luis Rodríguez has told media representatives that the player will arrive in Montevideo today and sign his contract after the final talks.

After coming up through the ranks of Defensor Sporting, Viudez joined AC Milan aged 18 for €2.5 million. He could not make it into the first team of the iconic Italian club, which loaned him back to Defensor. From there, it led him to Mexico to play for CF América and Nexaca, before arriving at Nacional for the first time back in 2011. He stayed there until June 2012 and continued his career at Turkish club Kasimpasa for nearly three years. In July 2015, he joined River Plate.

Viudez, with just 169cm body size, is a speedy winger who is able to fill several positions up front. While the main one is the right wing, he is able to play on the left side as well as secondary striker. His two-footedness allows him to be very flexible and mobile. At Nacional, he will join the battle for a starting position with the likes of Leandro Barcia, Brian Lozano and Kevin Ramírez.

En la despedida de las canchas de un grande de un ídolo y gran persona!!! El @chino_recoba20

Ein von Tabare Viudez (@tabare_viudez) gepostetes Foto am 31. Mär 2016 um 20:16 Uhr

As you can tell from the picture above, Viudez is familiar with the club legends. When Álvaro Recoba played his testimonial at Gran Parque Central a while back, he invited the winger to join his side for a fantastic evening.

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Brian Lozano leaves Mexico to return home

Brian Lozano is very close to a return to his home country Uruguay. A transfer from Mexican side CF América to Nacional is imminent and will be made public in the near future. 

Brian Lozano in the Uruguay shirt. (Photo: alchetron.com)

During January 2016, Brian Lozano made the big step: The then 21 year old decided to leave his home country to reach his breakthrough in the (probably) best Latin American football league, in Mexico. The young Uruguayan had some trouble finding his way into the new side, starting just one game. After 45 minutes without much luck, he was substituted in a 1-4 loss to Pachuca. 

In mid-March it was an injury that stopped him and kept him out of the team until the end of the season. A total of 112 minutes of playing time in 6 months is not sufficient for a player that is still developing. It was the main motive for Lozano's agent, Flavio Perchman, to push a move to a foreign country. Mexican league regulations would only allow a move outside of the country at this time. 

Due to Christian Tabó's exit from Nacional, it was clear that coach Martín Lasarte wanted to bring in a new speedy winger to replace the often underperforming Tabó. Lozano fits that role perfectly and will join the Tricolor on loan for one year. He has been a standout player for Defensor Sporting ever since going up the youth ranks of the club. In 2015, he even managed to be called up to Uruguay's national team, an honour that not many young players receive from coach Óscar Tabárez. 

The diminutive winger (just 1.66m) will enter the competition for a starting spot with Kevin Ramírez on the left and Leandro Barcia on the right side. Both played excellent seasons in early 2016 until injuries stopped them. The latest reports suggest that the club will keep searching for a true #9 to be fed by those wingers and support Nico López in his role up front.

According to Pasión Tricolor, the negotiations between América and Nacional are about to reach its conclusion, and the Uruguayans are also positive on the deal. América's president Ricardo Peláez has already confirmed the player's exit to Uruguay's record champion.

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Sebastián Rodríguez joins Nacional from Liverpool

Uruguayan record champions Nacional have made their first purchase of the summer. Central midfielder Sebastián Rodríguez leaves Liverpool to join one of the big two clubs of the city.

Sebastián Rodríguez joins Nacional. (Photo: tenfield.com.uy)

After a disappointing league campaign, Nacional have started their business early during the month of June. Following the arrival of new coach Martín Lasarte, the first (and not the last) player has joined the club too. 

Central midfielder Sebastián Rodríguez is 23 years old and has been one of the most consistent players for Liverpool last season. During the Clausura, he played 14 of 15 games for the full 90 minutes. While doing so, Rodríguez scored a goal and assisted a further one. 

His main strengths are strategic ones. He will battle Santiago Romero and Gonzalo Porras for a place in the starting eleven, should they stay at the club. Rodríguez' technique and ball control are excellent, along with decent vision on the pitch. Despite not showing up on the scoring sheet too often, the midfielder has a good shot. 

Take a look at him demonstrating that shot during the Apertura on Youtube.

After becoming a professional footballer in the youth academy of Danubio, Rodríguez left his home country aged 18 in 2011. His destination: Spain, where he played for UD Almeria's second team in the third tier of Spanish football. In 2014, he moved on to Swiss fourth league side Locarno. During the first half of the season, he could not make it to the matchday squad, before playing a key role in the second half all of a sudden. He found himself on the pitch for 90 minutes regularly, yet decided to return to Uruguay a year after his arrival. 

Seemingly, the player had already been on the transfer market a while ago, with reported interest of Nacional and Peñarol. In the end, the Tricolor made the decisive move and had enough convincing arguments for Rodríguez.

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Diego Forlán leaves Peñarol after realising dream

Following his long-dreamed-of triumph in Uruguay's Primera División final against Plaza Colonia, Diego Forlán has announced to leave Peñarol. 

Says goodbye with a trophy: Diego Forlán. (Photo: unionradio.net)

His dream came true at the very end. Diego Forlán, most prolific figure of his country for many years, won the Uruguayan championship in his final game for Peñarol. A 3-1 win over Plaza Colonia in added time at the Estadio Centenario was all Cachavacha and his family had wished for.

Arriving back home a year ago from Cerezo Osaka in the second Japanese league, there were doubts regarding Forlán's potential to be one of the leading players for Peñarol. He brushed them aside early on by scoring two goals against Montevideo Wanderers in his first friendly appearance. There was never any doubt about his influence on Uruguayan football and the league off the pitch. As a figurehead, he excited not only fans of his new club, but across South America.

Forlán's league performances were mixed throughout the year and turned better continuously towards the end of the Apertura. His vision set him apart from large parts of his opponents in Uruguay. The 37-year old produced magnificent assists in the process and shone one last time back home. Four goals and eight assists during the first part of the year, another four plus four in the Clausura.

Peñarol's general level of play experienced a large drop of quality in that second half of the football year. Despite their early and disappointing Copa Libertadores exit, Forlán and his colleagues could not pick it back up in the league anymore. A continued stumble behind Plaza Colonia led to second place and a final against the aforementioned promoted team from Eduardo Espinel.

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Peñarol ended up profiting from a late red card against their opponents in extra-time. Diego Forlán himself stepped up and assisted the winning goal shortly after. Clearly an appropriate way to go out for Uruguay's legend and the club he wished to play for since his childhood days. His father Pablo (70) defended the same colours from 1963 to 1970.

The most important aspects of his time in yellow and black will not be goals or assists. It will be the countless times he produced smiles on people's faces, from his dad to the countless fans of the club. For a year, Uruguay's league felt very special and rightfully so in the light of the World Cup 2010 Golden Ball winner. The long-lost son leaves with many memories. Where will we see him next?

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Plaza Colonia - A championship in numbers

Plaza Colonia stunned Uruguay's big teams with their surprise Clausura win. They finished the second half of the year 5 points ahead of Peñarol. Germancopa takes a look at their title in numbers.

Plaza Colonia have won the title.

1 - Only one loss during the Clausura. As a promoted team? As a promoted team. The single team able to beat Plaza Colonia was Juventud. Therefore, the qualification to the 2017 Copa Libertadores was the logical consequence.

2 - Eduardo Espinel's team needs two more wins against Peñarol to crown themselves champion of Uruguay. If they lose one of them, Peñarol wins the yearly title. The first of the possibly two games will take place on Sunday at the Estadio Centenario.

8 - Eight of 15 times, the small club from Colonia del Sacramento kept a clean sheet. It proved instrumental on their way to the championship. Goalkeeper Kevin Dawson, playing in 14 games of them, was responsible for seven of those occasions.

8 - Germán Rivero was the best striker of Plaza Colonia. The Argentine scored eight goals during the Clausura, ranking fourth best among the league's top scorers.

9 - The amount of goals against. Plaza had the best defense in the league by far, next best team was CA Fénix in 7th place.

20 - The amount of goals scored by Plaza. It was only good enough for fifth best in the league. Defense wins championships again?

32 - The total amount of points Plaza Colonia won during the 15 Clausura games. That is an extremely strong average of 2.13 points per game from Espinel's men. 

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Disappointing end to a good season? - Nacional

After years of international struggles, Nacional had a good year again in the Copa Libertadores. While reaching the quarterfinals in the most prestigious South American competition, the league form dipped accordingly. Despite having the chance to win the annual table, they lost game after game to end the year.

Will he continue? Coach Gustavo Munúa. (Photo: nacional.uy)

At the end of the day, the record champion was lucky that Racing Club was present enough to beat CA Cerro. Nacional had even slipped into danger of missing the 2017 Copa Libertadores completely, which would have been a complete disaster for Gustavo Munúa's men. The former goalkeeper, along with club management, built a good team that competed in both competitions for the longest time.

Once injuries and Copa América ripped core parts out of the team, the obvious fact surfaced: The alternatives are nowhere near the quality of the first team. A lot of blame gets directed towards Munúa, which is not fair in my opinion. The team was carried by Nico López' goalscoring and presence up front for weeks and when he was down and out, Leo Gamalho was supposed to replace him. The same Gamalho that scored a grand total of two goals after arriving to the club from Brazilian side Avaí. In no way was he able to replace the previously departed Iván Alonso or the injured López. The former captain was missed in every way, despite the club's decent success.

Two further players that had been among the best all season, Jorge Fucile and Mauricio Victorino, were called up for the Copa América Centenario by Uruguay and missed the last two games of the Clausura season as well. Poor defensive sequences and the obvious losses to average teams such as Rentistas and Liverpool followed. During yesterday's last game of the season, a 0-2 loss to Liverpool, the team completely lost its cool and had three players sent off: Eguren on the bench, Gamalho and captain Polenta on the field. There are ways you can go out of the season with your heads held high, this was not one of them.

Nevertheless, a weak season with five losses and just seven wins in 15 games are the remainders to go along with nice memories of the Libertadores campaign. Nacional finished fourth in the league, were even overtaken by Montevideo Wanderers on Saturday. From my personal view, there are still many positives one can build on next year. For example, some individual seasons were outstanding. Not only Nico López fully convinced upon his return, Esteban Conde did really well in goal throughout the season, being supported by Victorino and Diego Polenta. Both had their ups and downs, but were usually there when it mattered most. Left-back Alfonso Espino made a lot of progress and Jorge Fucile was probably the best player aside from López.

For the club, it would be very important to keep their best players for next year as well. To have any chance of a larger development, Nacional should continue to move forward with Munúa. They have the advantage of not having to play in the Copa Sudamericana in the fall, as the champion of Uruguay (Plaza Colonia or Peñarol) will qualify along with the 4th, 5th and 6th best teams. It gives the team the opportunity to concentrate on the Apertura, which is well needed after the disastrous end to 2015/16.

Until next season. (Photo: nacional.uy)

One thing that is for certain in the midst of all questions? The fans will continue to walk into Gran Parque Central next year as well and make the atmosphere an unforgettable one.

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Peñarol steal a lucky point from Nacional

On Sunday afternoon local time, it was finally time for the Clausura Clásico between Peñarol and Nacional. The venue: Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, which was nicely filled despite the persistent rain in Uruguay's capital. 

Exciting clash between two bitter rivals in Montevideo. (Photo: ovaciondigital.com.uy)

Personnel

Nacional were forced into two changes from the Copa Libertadores outing against Boca Juniors. As expected, striker Nico López and Kevin Ramírez could not play and were replaced by Christian Tabó and Léo Gamalho. 

Peñarol made four changes from their 3-0 win over Villa Teresa last weekend. Diego Forlán, Miguel Murillo, Nahitan Nández and Luis Aguiar replaced Diego Rossi, Hernán Novick, Christian Palacios and Nicolás Albarracín. 

First half

No tiredness to be seen early on from Nacional after playing Copa Libertadores football in midweek. They were on the front foot right away and created their first opportunity before a minute was played. Gamalho's header went right into the arms of Gastón Guruceaga. After about 10 minutes, Tabó tried his luck with a lob that sank dangerously and was tipped over the bar by Peñarol's goalkeeper eventually.

It took the home team a while to get into the game, as their first chance came shortly after the quarter hour mark. Nández arrived a little too late at the far post to convert Forlán's decent deep cross. Nacional added two chances through Fucile from distance and Gamalho just missing a header, while Peñarol had the biggest opportunity of the half. After Forlán made Fucile look a little silly at the back, Murillo could not reach the cross of his striking partner at the far post.

After a great start from Nacional who showed no tiredness in the first half, Peñarol got into the game a little better after quarter of an hour and produced some first chances. Especially Diego Forlán proved instrumental going forward yet again and had his foot in every chance. The rest of the first 45 minutes was even between the two foes and rightfully ended tied at zero.

Second half

Goal from Diego Polenta. (Photo: ovaciondigital.com.uy)

If you enjoy spectacle, now was your time to tune into this game. Only three minutes into the second half, Mathías Aguirregaray thought it was a good idea to lift his leg high up against Tabó. He hit the winger and Nacional was awarded a correct penalty. As López missed today's game, it was the captain himself who stepped up for the penalty. Diego Polenta left no doubts and fired it into the bottom left corner for a 1-0 lead for Nacional.

Yet again, it took the home team about 15 minutes to find their game - at least for a short while, as we found out later. Forlán's shot sailed over the bar and coach Jorge Da Silva brought on Hernán Novick for the toothless Murillo. Hernán thanked him right away by kicking a lovely corner into the penalty area, finding the head of Aguirregaray. The defender then found the back of the net and it was all tied up again (62').

The situation lasted for only three minutes, before Nacional got their second penalty of the evening. Aguiar caught Barcia's foot on the edge of the penalty area (yes, inside) and yet again the referee pointed to the spot. Big game players are made for this and Polenta showed again why he is just one of those by converting his second penalty, cooly into the same corner. 2-1 Nacional!

Following their second goal, it was all Nacional going forward. Peñarol hit a wall whenever they attempted to attack their opponents. Big chances from Romero and Sebastián Fernández multiple times were the consequence. The striker will regret his finish in the 77th minute the most of all. A 3 on 1 counter led to Seba standing all alone in front of Guruceaga, but instead of firing it into the net, he put it wide.

Peñarol were even further weakened shortly after when Fernández had broken through on a counter attack yet again. Guillermo Rodríguez brought him down as the last man and saw the red card. Nothing spoke for yellow & black to come back and somehow they still did it. In the last minutes of a four minute long injury time, they created their first chances since Nacional's second goal. Esteban Conde had the better end of Aguiar's freekick, but when the midfielder crossed for Marcel Novick, the goalkeeper was powerless himself. Novick's header flew against the inside of the post and into the net for a much celebrated equalizer by one half of the stadium.

Analysis

Creator of Peñarol's lucky point: Marcel Novick. (Photo: ovaciondigital.com.uy)

An extremely lucky point for Peñarol considering their disadvantage with 10 men and their inability to create any chances throughout the last 30 minutes. Still, they believed in themselves at the end and came away with yet another lucky Clásico draw as they did the last time out in the Apertura.

Impressive today: Double goalscorer Diego Polenta led his team throughout the 90 minutes and fully convinced. On the other side, it was the Novick's that proved decisive in Peñarol's comeback.

With three games left in the season, Peñarol stay on top for now, awaiting Plaza Colonia's match against Sud América. With a win, the outsiders can leapfrog both of the big teams. However, Nacional will have to hope for both of them to drop points eventually to have a chance of winning the Clausura title.

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